Venezuela’s quiet opposition leader: Why Edmundo González is on the sidelines of a power struggle

In the weeks following the US military capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, the world’s attention turned to who was best placed to run a country that had spent 13 years under his authoritarian regime. Since Maduro’s unceremonious ouster at the hands of US special forces on January 3, the right to succeed him has … The post Venezuela’s quiet opposition leader: Why Edmundo González is on the sidelines of a power struggle appeared first on Egypt Independent. Edmundo González, Venezuelan opposition leader, during an interview at his home in Caracas, Venezuela, on Wednesday, May 15, 2024. Gaby Oraa/Bloomberg/Getty Images Facebook Twitter LinkedIn In the weeks following the US military capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, the world’s attention turned to who was best placed to run a country that had spent 13 years under his authoritarian regime. Since Maduro’s unceremonious ouster at the hands of US special forces on January 3, the right to succeed him has been claimed by: Delcy Rodríguez, Maduro’s former deputy, currently sworn in as acting president with the apparent support of US President Donald Trump; Trump himself, who has previously claimed to be “in charge” of Venezuela; and the Venezuelan opposition, with leader María Corina Machado saying last month that her coalition should lead the country. Machado won the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize for fighting a tumultuous election that landed her at the top of Maduro’s most-wanted list. Yet one key voice has been absent from the center stage: Edmundo González Urrutia – the man who stood in for Machado in the 2024 presidential election after she was barred from entering and who, according to both the opposition and several Western nations including the United States, actually won the vote. Since that disputed election, Machado’s international profile has skyrocketed – thanks not only to her daring escape from Venezuela when she traveled to Norway to collect her Nobel Prize, but her subsequent gifting of the award to Trump when she met him at the White House in January. She is the one who has been engaging directly with US officials as the opposition tries to secure its position in post-Maduro Venezuela. González, meanwhile, has stayed largely out of public view altogether. So, what happened to him? Edmundo Gonzalez, then Venezuela’s newly nominated opposition candidate, feeds macaw at his home in Caracas, Venezuela, on April 24, 2024. Gaby Oraa/Bloomberg/Getty Images A man of few words Living in exile in Spain since late 2024, González has remained largely quiet since the US operation that ousted Maduro. He released a statement the day after the attack — when Machado was still silent — saying the moment was “an important step, but not enough” and calling for the release of political prisoners. Since then, he hasn’t said much on the power transitions in Venezuela, instead focusing on the freeing of those prisoners – a matter close to his heart as his son-in-law, Rafael Tudares, was arrested and sentenced to 30 years in prison by Venezuelan authorities during Maduro’s presidency. Following Tudares’ release alongside dozens of other political prisoners, on the orders of Rodríguez in what the Venezuelan government said was a “peace” gesture, González made one of his few public comments on the 2024 election in an interview with Fox Noticias, in which he said, “More than 7 million Venezuelans voted for our candidacy, and it is from that reality that the process of democratic normalization in Venezuela must begin.” That aside, since the election, he has been a man of few words – as, indeed, he always has been. A retired diplomat who served as Venezuela’s ambassador to Algeria and Argentina, he is far more comfortable negotiating behind the scenes. In fact, he was not the first, second, or even third choice of the opposition coalition known as the Democratic Unitary Platform. After the Maduro regime barred Machado, both academic Corina Yoris and former presidential candidate Manuel Rosales were considered as possible replacements. González became the last resort for the opposition to submit a ballot within the electoral deadline. Edmundo González at the closing of the congress of the European People’s Party on April 30, 2025 in Valencia, Spain. Europa Press News/Europa Press/Europa Press via Getty Images “The fact that he’s had this low profile has been actually a very positive thing for the opposition. And it’s why he was chosen, because he wasn’t polarizing, and he was much less likely to be blocked,” said Inter-American Dialogue President and CEO Rebecca Bill Chavez. “It was a quality that helped the opposition. But it’s also one of the reasons why he’s less visible today.” Those close to González’s circle know he never really wanted the presidency – as he himself has acknowledged on many occasions. “I never imagined I would find myself in this situation,” he told Venezuelan media in late April of 2024, shortly after his candidature was formalized. It was shortly after that comment that a portrait by Bloomberg photographer Gaby Oraa went viral, showing him feeding wild colorful macaws known in Venezuela as guacamayas. And so, the last hope for the opposition quickly became the image of a beloved grandfather for voters. Experts say there is a political strategy behind González staying on the sidelines. “Political movements, in general, tend to project one clear political voice. And right now, it’s Machado