Millions have fled Venezuela under President Maduro’s rule. Now he’s up for reelection

DATE OF ELECTION

TBD, but government and opposition have agreed to hold it in the second half of 2024

TYPE OF ELECTION

Presidential

WHO’S RUNNING

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro will seek to add six more years to his decade-long, crisis-ridden presidency. His challenger is anyone’s guess. Longtime government foe María Corina Machado won the primary election held in October by the faction of the opposition backed by the U.S. government. But the government has banned her from running for office, and the attorney general has opened criminal investigations against primary organizers. The government has not shown any evidence backing its ban against Machado, who has continued to campaign, insisting that her legitimacy as a candidate comes from Venezuelan voters, not ruling-party loyalists.

WHY IT MATTERS TO THE WORLD

The election’s result will be felt well beyond oil-rich Venezuela. Maduro’s presidency has been marked by a complex political, social and economic crisis that has pushed millions into poverty and driven over 7.4 million people to migrate, increasingly to the U.S., whose economic sanctions in the name of democracy and human rights have been a major blow to Venezuela’s oil industry. Absent fair electoral conditions, Venezuela could be further alienated by the international community. Workers fed up with unfulfilled promises and a minimum wage that’s just enough to buy a gallon of water may choose to migrate.

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