Draft:Nicolás Maduro

Nicolás Maduro Moros (1962-) is the current president of Venezuela since 2013. He adheres to socialism, and is influenced by his predecessor Hugo Chavez. Despite being the subject of intense western propaganda, his legacy is a mixed bag.

Started from the bottom, now we're here
Before entering politics, Maduro was a bus driver, eventually working his way to become a trade union leader. It was from here his political career began, and was elected to the National Assembly in 2000.

From there, Maduro moved to Cuba and lived in Havana, serving with fellow leftists from various militant groups and even served as a mole for Cuban intelligence to observe Hugo Chavez's activities. He also served as a senior member of Communist Party of Cuba who was close to Fidel Castro.

The good
Under his presidency, Maduro has enacted several social programs aimed at decreasing poverty in his country, such as minimum wage increases and raising education rates. However, some outlets report that his policies have created even more inequality.

The bad
After Maduro won the election in 2013, he referred to his unmarried opponent, Henrique Capriles, as a "homosexual" and “a little princess, and loudly bragged at a rally “I do have a wife!”, “I like women!”. Maduro was widely condemned by various leftists for his remarks, and has since retracted them and apologized, claiming that he is not a homophobe and champions lgbt rights.

Maduro has supported Russia's invasion of Ukraine, mostly because he sees the war as an opportunity to fill in the void of oil suppliers left by Russia after they became a pariah state because of the war. Maduro has also assured that Venezuela has strong support for Russia.