Maduro

November 2021FocusGlobal PariahsAmericas

FOCUS on Pariah Leaders: Nicolás Maduro

Nicolás Maduro, the simultaneously reviled and celebrated socialist President of Venezuela, is facing another contested vote in November’s upcoming regional elections, according to CNN. The rise and fall of Maduro’s political legitimacy parallel that of other populist leaders in Latin America, but recent events indicate that Maduro may finally achieve the legitimacy he desires. 

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October 2020International NewsAmericas2020Europe

Maduro Wins Venezuelan Gold Lawsuit

On Monday, October 5, Nicolas Maduro’s Venezuelan government won its appeal in a lawsuit filed against the Bank of England concerning access to more than $1 billion in gold bullion. With this judgement, the England and Wales Court of Appeal has reversed a lower court’s decision to block Maduro’s government from accessing its gold bullion reserves housed at the Bank of England. The BBC reports that while this is an auspicious turn of events for the Maduro government, the verdict will only grant access to the bullion pending another review of the case.

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October 2020Focus2020Mass Migration

Focus on Mass Migration: Venezuela

A refugee is defined as “someone with a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership in a social group or political opinion”. A migrant, meanwhile, is defined as “someone who voluntarily leaves his or her country of origin to seek a better life and who does not face impediments to returning home”. Yet for the five million people who have fled from Venezuela since 2015 neither of those definitions accurately describes their circumstances. 

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