Alcalde ( /ælˈkældi/; Spanish: [alˈkalde]), or Alcalde ordinario, is the traditional Spanish municipal magistrate, who had both judicial and administrative functions. An alcalde was, in the absence of a corregidor, the presiding officer of the Castilian cabildo (the municipal council) and judge of first instance of a town. Alcaldes were elected annually, without the right to reelection for two or three years, by the regidores (council members) of the municipal council. The office of the alcalde was signified by a staff of office, which they were to take with them when doing their business.

The office of the alcalde evolved during the Reconquista as new lands were settled by the expanding kingdoms of León and Castile. As fortified settlements in the area between the Duero and Tagus rivers became true urban centers, they gained, from their feudal lords or the kings of Leon and Castile, the right to have councils. Among the rights that these councils had was to elect a municipal judge (iudex in Latin and juez in Spanish). These judges were assisted in their duties by various assistant judges, called alcaldes, whose number depended on the number of parishes the town had. The title alcalde was borrowed from the Arabic al-qaḍi ( قاضي,), meaning "the judge." The word alcalde originally was used for simple judges, as in Andalusian Arabic. Only later was it applied to the presiding municipal magistrate. This early use continued to be reflected in its other uses—such as in alcaldes del crimen, the judges in the audiencias; Alcaldes de la Casa y Corte de Su Majestad, who formed the highest tribunal in Castile and also managed the royal court; alcaldes mayores (a synonym for corregidor); and alcaldes de barrio, who were roughly the equivalent of the British parish constables. Because of this, the municipal alcalde was often referred to as an alcalde ordinario.

Nicolás Maduro Moros (born 23 November 1962 in Caracas) is a Venezuelan politician who was appointed foreign minister by President Hugo Chávez on 9 August 2006.

Nicolas Maduro began his political career as a bus driver and unofficial trade-unionist representing the workers of the Caracas Metro system in the 1970s and 1980s (back then, unions within the Metro company were not allowed). He finished high school in the Liceo Avalos, a public high-school west of Caracas during the '80 (El Valle neighborhood), but lacks any university or further education. He is considered one of the founders of the Fifth Republic Movement (MVR), but his biggest political accomplishment was as activist for the release of Hugo Chávez from prison, and later as one of this regional political coordinators during the 1998 presidential race. Maduro was elected on the MVR ticket to the Venezuelan Chamber of Deputies in 1998, to the National Constituent Assembly in 1999, and to the National Assembly in 2000 and 2005, representing the Capital District. The legislature elected him Speaker of the Assembly, even though he did not have a college degree or formal education. He held that position from 2005 until the first half of 2006. Maduro is married to Cilia Flores, herself a prominent figure within the MVR. She replaced Maduro as Speaker of assembly.

Jaime Nebot (born October 22, 1946) is an Ecuadorian politician. He currently serves as mayor of Guayaquil, which is Ecuador's largest city. Although he is affiliated with the Social Christian Party, he has distanced himself from it and now concentrates more on running the city. Nebot twice ran unsuccessfully for president of Ecuador, and is considered the protege of former president León Febres-Cordero.

Nebot was born to a prominent Guayaquil family. His father, Jaime Nebot Velasco, was a government minister during the administration of President José María Velasco Ibarra (1968–1972). His mother is Sulema Saadi, the daughter of a Lebanese immigrant who came to Ecuador after living in Brazil. Nebot was educated in various Catholic schools, including Colegio Cristóbal Colón in Guayaquil and Colegio San Gabriel in Quito. He has a law degree from Católica Santiago de Guayaquil. He entered politics in 1984, when he was appointed governor of Guayas province (the district encompassing Guayaquil) by then-president León Febres-Cordero. During his tenure as governor he sent police on a three-day operation to evict more than 700 families who were squatting on private land in Guayaquil. During the incident in Taura when President Febres-Cordero was kidnapped by some military officials led by Vargas Passo, Nebot played an important role in the negotiations for his freedom.