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LatinNews Daily - 26 February 2018

Maduro acclaims military fealty ahead of Venezuelan elections

Development: On 24 February, Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro launched two days of military exercises in the face of alleged US incitement of the Bolivarian armed forces (FANB) to carry out “a coup d’état”.

Significance: Maduro maintained that the military exercises demonstrated that the FANB was full square behind his government as it prepares to hold widely criticised elections. Maduro will stand in early presidential elections on 22 April, but his government’s attempt to hold legislative, state, and municipal council elections concurrently has hit a glitch.

  • Maduro inspected the military barracks at Fuerte Tiuna in Caracas. During a compulsory radio and television broadcast, Maduro claimed that “imperialism is wrong about the FANB”, in allusion to recent comments by US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. Maduro said the FANB was loyal and committed to “independence and the socialist fatherland”. During his regional tour earlier this month, Tillerson sparked controversy by intimating that the FANB might step in to manage a peaceful transition back to democratic rule in Venezuela.
  • The loyalty of the FANB has been called into question at various junctures in Maduro’s troubled tenure since 2012. Maduro is not a military man himself, unlike the government strongman Diosdado Cabello, and the rank-and-file is not immune from the country’s economic crisis.
  • The military hierarchy, however, is heavily invested in the government. Seven of the 23 state governorships are in military hands, along with no shortage of cabinet ministries. And, last November, Maduro awarded control of the oil industry to the military, with Major General Manuel Quevedo appointed president of the state-owned oil company Pdvsa and oil minister, to satisfy a military demand for greater influence within the ruling Bolivarian movement in return for propping up the government at such a problematic time.

Looking Ahead: Presidential aspirants have until 27 February to register before the national electoral council (CNE). Henri Falcón is the only opposition candidate of any stature considering whether to run. The CNE president, Tibisay Lucena, announced on 23 February that the body would be unable to organise legislative elections, brought forward from the end of 2020, to be held at the same time but she did say they could be held shortly afterwards.

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