Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro looks set to take the throne

“They are preparing for the coronation,” says a bakery manager in Caracas, Venezuela’s capital, as teams of cleaners spruce up the streets outside. On January 10th Nicolás Maduro will be sworn in for his third term as president in the National Assembly’s building nearby. His inauguration will defy the popular will. In July a clear majority of Venezuelans voted against him, only for the electoral authority, which the regime controls, to declare that Mr Maduro had won the election with 52% of the vote.