Venezuela Presidential Election 2013: 5 Facts About Nicolas Maduro

Impact

Despite lacking Hugo Chavez's charisma, the Interim President of Venezuela, and the late socialist leader's hand-picked successor, Nicolas Maduro, will probably be elected Sunday as the next president of Venezuela. Here are five facts about Nicolas Maduro.  

1. From Bus Driver to Minister of Foreign Affairs: Maduro, born on November 23, 1962, went from bus driver to union leader to congressman to foreign minister and now to president.

2. Married Into Power: Maduro is married to Cilia Flores, a prominent lawyer within Chavez's Fifth Republic Movement, who became the first woman to serve as president of the National Assembly in 2006 and is now the country's Attorney General.  

3. He Secured Chavez's Release From Prison in 1994: Maduro, one of the founders of the Fifth Republic Movement (MVR), is credited with securing Chavez's release from prison in 1994 — after his unsuccessful coup d'etat in 1992.

4. He'll Continue Chavez's Anti-American Delusion: Maduro accused "the domestic and foreign enemies of Venezuela" of somehow infecting Hugo Chavez  with cancer. He also expelled a U.S. Embassy diplomat who Maduro said was seeking military support for a plot against the government. 

5. He Needs to Watch Out For Diosdado Cabello: Chavez's endorsement of Maduro alienated Diosdado Cabello, a powerful Socialist Party official with ties to the armed forces, who had been considered another top candidate as the strongman's successor.