For the first time in decades, Venezuela’s self-described socialist government is facing a serious electoral challenge in a presidential election set for July 28. President Nicolás Maduro, now in his 11th year in office, is being challenged by former diplomat Edmundo González Urrutia at the head of a resurgent opposition, as well as a field of eight other candidates. The official campaign period kicked off Thursday. Maduro, who’s presided over an economic collapse that’s seen millions of people emigrate, has fended off previous challenges by barring rivals from elections and painting them as out-of-touch elitists in league with foreign powers, but things could be different as a popular opposition figure leads the campaign against him despite being blocked from the race.
