Venezuela stuck on repeat

The socialist regime may have strengthened its political control, but until US sanctions are unwound economic disaster will persist

It has been a strong year politically for Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro. Notwith­standing the near collapse of the oil sector and the wider economy, he has routed the hardline opposition and reinforced the power of his radical left-wing regime. But his latest domestic success, in the National Assembly election on 6 December, is a rather hollow victory that leaves him with a weakened hand on the international stage. The West will certainly not recognise the ballot. And Maduro’s hope of getting to 2021 in a stronger negotiating position with external stakeholders—including the US under a new Biden administration—is not likely to come to fruition. Without external recognition of the new N