The last hope
Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado waves to supporters from atop a vehicle during a campaign rally for the presidential elections in the state of Mérida, Venezuela, on June 25, 2024. 
A woman extends her arm to greet Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado during a campaign event in Táchira, Venezuela, on June 28, 2024. 
Supporters of Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado run alongside her motorcade in the rain during a campaign event in Táchira state, Venezuela, on June 27, 2024. 
Children greet Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado during a campaign event in San Cristóbal, Táchira state, Venezuela, on June 28, 2024. 
An effigy representing Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado is burned by government supporters during the traditional burning of Judas, as part of Holy Week celebrations in Caracas, Venezuela, on March 31, 2024. 
Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado greets her supporters during a campaign event in the state of Mérida, Venezuela, on June 25, 2024. 
Opposition candidate Edmundo González and opposition leader María Corina Machado wave as they address their supporters during the closing of the campaign in Caracas, Venezuela, on July 25, 2024. 
Opposition candidate Edmundo González holds election records during a protest after authorities declared Maduro the winner in Caracas, Venezuela, on July 30, 2024. This was the last time González was seen publicly in Venezuela. 
A woman holds a candle during a vigil in honor of Venezuelans detained during protests against the presidential election results at the Central University of Venezuela in Caracas, Venezuela, on December 17, 2024. According to the Penal Forum, nearly two thousand people were arrested during those demonstrations. 
Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado places a Venezuelan flag on her vehicle during a campaign event in San Cristóbal, Táchira state, Venezuela, on June 28, 2024. Machado has been in hiding since January of this year.
In 2023, María Corina Machado won the opposition primaries to face Nicolás Maduro in the presidential elections. When the Supreme Court of Justice upheld her disqualification in January 2024, it endorsed former ambassador Edmundo González Urrutia as the opposition candidate. Machado continued to lead her party in support of González’s campaign, using the roof of a vehicle as a stage as she toured rallies across the country.
After the elections, the authorities declared Maduro the winner, but the opposition challenged the results, citing records that indicated a victory for González. Allegations of electoral irregularities led many countries to question the legitimacy of the process. According to the Penal Forum, nearly 2,000 people were arrested during the protests that followed the publication of the results.
Although Maduro remained in power and González was forced into exile, Machado, from hiding, remains the leader of the opposition and a key figure in the defense of political change in Venezuela.
