Venezuelan President Maduro hopes to win third term in ballots

Nicolas Maduro became acting president of Venezuela on March 8, 2013, three days after the death of President Hugo Chavez from cancer, and 11 years later, he is seeking re-election for a third term in the upcoming presidential elections on July 28. Maduro served six years as foreign minister before being named vice president in October 2012 and then Chavez's handpicked successor two months later. As Chavez's illness worsened, the burly, moustachioed Maduro became the South American nation's de facto leader. A former bus driver and union leader and self-declared "Chavista," Maduro continued Chavez's policies, including nationalizations, tight state control of the economy and financial support for allies such as communist-led Cuba. Maduro faced opposition leader Henrique Capriles, the centrist governor of Miranda state, in the April 14 vote. Maduro only narrowly won and Capriles refused to recognise the election result. He alleged that there were thousands of voting irregularities. The opposition's accusations sparked a wave of protests in the country, leaving dozens dead and hundreds arrested. Maduro inherited an economy beset by high inflation and unemployment but buoyed by the OPEC member's oil reserves. He has said that private sector hoarding and "speculative attacks" on the bolivar currency were to blame for the economic problems. During his administration, Maduro has been accused by his critics of authoritarianism, leading a dictatorial regime and imprisoning opposition politicians, as well as not allowing free participation in the elections with electoral bans on popular candidates. As foreign minister, Maduro traveled widely, denouncing U.S. foreign policy and cultivating allies in emerging markets such as Russia and China, which would become a key financier. The 61-year-old president, who has presided over the economic collapse that led to voracious hyperinflation and the largest migration of Venezuelans, often calls the opposition "fascists" and "demons." Maduro will face former diplomat Edmundo Gonzalez, his main opponent from the opposition coalition 'Plataforma Unitaria' in the upcoming July 28 elections after Maria Corina Machado was banned from running for any political office.