Who isEdmundo González? He’s the opposition candidate with a chance, at least on paper, to unseat strongman President Nicolás Maduro in this weekend’s Venezuelan election. It’s a surprising position for this 74-year-old former diplomat who has never run for office and was virtually unknown to Venezuelans a few months ago. It’s more surprising that polls show him running ahead of Maduro.
But in a sense, Edmundo González is María Corina Machado, who won more than 90% of the vote in an open opposition primary in late October. Maduro-aligned judges on Venezuela’s supreme court then ruled her ineligible for election. After Machado’s first chosen replacement was also banned, she turned to the soft-spoken González, whose deliberately anodyne campaign message is that all Venezuelans must “come together.”
Meanwhile, it’s Machado on the campaign trail working hard to get out the vote while González remains safely on the sidelines. A vote for González is a vote for the popular Machado.
In the end, none of these opposition gymnastics are likely to matter. Maduro will almost certainly rig the election to stay in power, and it appears the military remains on his side. But this weekend’s vote is still one to watch.
For more on this weekend’s election, check out GZERO’s Viewpoint interview with Eurasia Group expert Risa Grais-Targowhere.