Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado greets supporters from atop a vehicle during a campaign rally for the opposition presidential candidate, Edmundo González Urrutia. Mérida, Venezuela
In 2023, María Corina Machado won the opposition primaries to challenge Nicolás Maduro in the presidential elections, but Venezuelan authorities subsequently barred her from running. As a result, she endorsed former ambassador Edmundo González Urrutia as the opposition’s candidate and led his political campaign across the country. After the election, authorities declared Maduro the winner, but the opposition contested the results, citing vote tallies that indicated a victory for González. Allegations of electoral irregularities led many countries to question the legitimacy of the outcome. Although Maduro retained power and González was forced into exile, Machado remains in hiding as the leader of the opposition and a key figure advocating for political change.
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