Maduro changed the government and strengthened oil management with his closest circle

Nicolás Maduro announced this Tuesday a profound restructuring of his cabinet, with which he strengthens with his hard core the management of oil, the engine of political and economic power in Venezuela. The president has approved Delcy Rodríguez as his vice president, but now the Chavista leader will also be Petroleum Minister. Diosdado Cabello, leader of the apparatus of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV), returns to the executive after more than 10 years as vice president and Minister of the Interior and Justice, a position that gives him command of the police forces. Maduro thus ensures direct control over sensitive areas at a time of intense political crisis due to the disputed presidential elections, in which he was declared the winner without presenting the results.

After a period of deep turmoil, which ended with the departure and arrest of former minister Tareck El Aissami, Delcy Rodríguez will have direct responsibilities for the state oil company Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA). Board of Directors member Héctor Obregón was appointed head of the company in place of Pedro Tellechea, who has moved to the National Industry and Production portfolio. The change of government increases the power of the Rodríguez brothers. Delcy’s management includes the tremendous influence of the president of the National Assembly, Jorge Rodríguez, one of Maduro’s most trusted positions. The appointment will serve to “accelerate changes and transitions (…) to remain at the helm”, the president said. However, the vice president will leave the finance portfolio, which is joined by Anabel Pereira, who in the past was in charge of the cryptocurrency project, a major failed bet of the executive.

Vladimir Padrino has been approved as Defense Minister, as well as the Chancellor, Yvan Gil. Other additional names announced by Hugo Chavez’s successor include Miranda state governor Hector Rodriguez, one of the most promising young Bolivarian leaders. He will be the next head of education, a position he has held before. Deputy Ricardo Sanchez was appointed Minister of University Education.

Maduro’s movement comes at an extremely delicate moment, when pressure mounts from the international community and the opposition led by María Corina Machado and Edmundo González Urrutia to publish the minutes that prove his victory on July 28. In recent days, the president has opted to strengthen himself and this change in the cabinet, pushing for “popular government” and “regional socialism”, sends a message in exactly that direction.

One of the most important contributions is that of Diosdado Cabello, from the most radical wing of Chavismo, who dedicated more than a decade to political action. A would be in charge of the police amid a crackdown on the persecution and imprisonment of opponents. Cabello is a deputy and has promoted the most restrictive laws on freedoms and which have led to the imprisonment of government dissidents. For a decade he has had a program on state television, from which he constantly threatens opposition leaders. With a hammer.

On July 30, two days after the election, Cabello threatened González Urrutia and Machado that they would “get screwed,” as both politicians rejected the victory awarded to Maduro by the electoral body and claimed an opposition victory. This week, he announced a mobilization of Chavista militants this Wednesday, in parallel with a rally organized by the Anti-Chavista Supporters’ Forum.

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