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Can Venezuela's opposition leader unseat Nicolás Maduro?

Venezuela stands at a crossroads. Amid fraud allegations and Nicolás Maduro’s controversial third term, opposition leader María Corina Machado fights from the shadows. On GZERO World, Ian Bremmer speaks with Machado about Venezuela’s future, America’s role, and why she believes Maduro’s grip on power is weaker than it seems. For Machado, it’s not just about toppling a dictator; it’s about rebuilding democracy in Venezuela from the ground up. The real question isn’t just how Maduro’s rule ends but what comes next.

GZERO World with Ian Bremmer, the award-winning weekly global affairs series, airs nationwide on US public television stations (check local listings).

New digital episodes of GZERO World are released every Monday on YouTube. Don't miss an episode: subscribe to GZERO's YouTube channel and turn on notifications (🔔).GZERO World with Ian Bremmer airs on US public television weekly - check local listings.

Venezuela's opposition leader María Corina Machado says Maduro's days are numbered

Listen: On the GZERO World Podcast, Ian Bremmer is joined by the most prominent opposition leader in Venezuela, María Corina Machado. Machado has a long political history as a center-right opposition figure in Venezuela, but she became the leader of that opposition during the presidential election last summer. That’s when the regime-friendly electoral council declared Nicolás Maduro the winner, despite widespread allegations of fraud and international condemnation from the US and Europe. But this is more than just a Venezuela story, it’s an American one, too. The Biden era saw an unprecedented influx of Venezuelan migrants to sanctuary cities. Under President Trump’s administration so far, thousands of Venezuelans have been arrested, and many have already been deported. Some of them, purported gang members, were shipped off to a black hole of a prison in El Salvador. And in recent weeks, Trump has canceled Venezuelan oil licenses and threatened steep sanctions and tariffs on Maduro’s regime.

Subscribe to the GZERO World Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or your preferred podcast platform, to receive new episodes as soon as they're published.

- YouTube

Meet María Corina Machado, the woman who scares Venezuela's dictator

Born and trained as an engineer, Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado has become a powerful symbol of resistance. Once a fringe opposition politician who shocked the nation by interrupting Hugo Chavez, she now leads the charge against the dictatorial regime of his successor, Nicolás Maduro. Although she has gone into hiding, she has not kept quiet. Through remote interviews and media outreach, she's rallied support for the opposition and praised right-leaning Latin American leaders like Argentina’s Javier Milei and El Salvador’s Nayib Bukele. She defended the Trump administration’s recent move to cancel oil and gas licenses that had allowed energy companies to operate in Venezuela.

GZERO World with Ian Bremmer, the award-winning weekly global affairs series, airs nationwide on US public television stations (check local listings).


New digital episodes of GZERO World are released every Monday on YouTube. Don't miss an episode: subscribe to GZERO's YouTube channel and turn on notifications (🔔).GZERO World with Ian Bremmer airs on US public television weekly - check local listings.

Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado greets supporters at a protest ahead of the Friday inauguration of President Nicolas Maduro for his third term, in Caracas, Venezuela January 9, 2025.

REUTERS/Leonardo Fernandez Viloria

Venezuela briefly arrests opposition leader just ahead of Maduro inauguration

Regime forces violently detained Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado as she left a rally in Caracas on Thursday, just one day before strongman President Nicolás Maduro was set to begin his third term. She was released hours later.

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A demonstrator looks on during a protest against election results that awarded Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro with a third term, in Caracas, Venezuela, August 3, 2024.

REUTERS/Leonardo Fernandez Viloria

Will Maduro yield amid protests and calls for transparency?

Seven EU member states on Sunday demanded that the Venezuelan government publish the electoral rolls to settle last weekend’s heavily disputed election, and the US and Argentina have taken the lead in recognizing opposition candidate Edmundo González as president. Thousands of Venezuelans have put their lives and freedom at risk to protest President Nicolás Maduro’s claimed electoral victory this past week,and the regime has arrested hundreds and deployed armed paramilitaries to intimidate them.

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A Venezuelan opposition supporter reacts after the results of the presidential election, outside Venezuela's Embassy in Mexico City, Mexico, July 28, 2024.

REUTERS/Toya Sarno Jordan

Maduro declares victory in Venezuela, opposition cries fraud

Venezuela’s strongman President Nicolás Maduro declared victory in the country’s hotly contested election on Monday, claiming to have won 51% of the vote despite independent exit polls showing a landslide for the opposition. Maria Corina Machado, Maduro’s chief rival, whom he banned from standing, said data collected by volunteers in polling places showed her candidate, Edmundo González, trouncing Maduro with 70% of the vote.

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Venezuelans gather to demonstrate during Venezuela's election voting day in Bogota, Colombia, July 28, 2024.

REUTERS/Nathalia Angarita

Venezuelans head to the polls as Maduro warns of a “bloodbath”

Venezuelans are voting in make-or-break elections as President Nicolás Madurotrails behind opposition leader Edmundo González by up to 30 percentage points in some polls. González – a retired diplomat who stepped in after the most popular opposition leader Maria Corina Machado was barred – might be the country’s best chance to restore democracy.

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Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro, his wife Cilia Flores, and Vice President of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela Diosdado Cabello participate in a rally during May Day celebrations in Caracas, Venezuela, on May 1, 2024.

REUTERS/Leonardo Fernandez Viloria

Is Venezuela’s election going to be too lopsided to steal?

Until about two weeks ago, Venezuelan strongman Nicolas Maduro looked like he’d managed to sideline the opposition enough to ensure a win in this summer’s presidential election.

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