Election results elsewhere have boosted Nicolás Maduro but humanitarian crisis is far from over

As Venezuela crumbled and its people began to starve, pastor Jesús Campo founded a sanctuary for hunger-stricken refugees across the border in Brazil. He called it Vila Esperança – the Village of Hope. More than 7 million Venezuelans have fled their country’s economic meltdown in recent years and scores of them found shelter in his ramshackle shantytown in the border town of Pacaraima, cobbling huts together from recycled wood, scrap metal and mud.

But a decade after Vila Esperança was born on a hilltop near the frontier, Campo sees cause for optimism once again – this time back in his decaying homeland. “Little by little, our country is rising up,” the 76-year-old preacher said one recent morning as he sat in a shack built from black plastic and branches.

A cartoon character smiting imperialist enemies – a dead ringer for President Nicolás Maduro – has inspired acclaim and derision

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No – it’s a Venezuelan propaganda campaign designed to burnish Nicolás Maduro’s strongman credentials with the help of a caped crusader called SuperBigote – or SuperMoustache.

The musclebound cartoon superhero – who bears an unmistakable resemblance to Venezuela’s authoritarian president – has been met with acclaim or derision, depending on which side of the country’s bitter political schism viewers stand.