Meet the New Face of Venezuela’s Opposition
Meet the New Face of Venezuela’s Opposition
Juan Guaidó’s youth gives him less baggage than many of his colleagues. Will that help him take on Maduro?
Editor's note: At a rally in Caracas on January 23 and citing the Venezuelan Constitution, Juan Guaidó administered the oath of office to himself to assume the interim presidency of Venezuela. Many countries are now recognizing him as Venezuela's democratic leader.
Juan Guaidó, the 35-year-old congressman who on Jan. 5 took the helm of Venezuela’s National Assembly, has advantages that most opponents of Nicolás Maduro’s regime don’t have. Hailing from the tiny state of Vargas, one of Venezuela’s poorest, Guaidó is mostly free from the infighting and political intrigue that has long hindered other opposition leaders. His rise to president of the Assembly came as part of a power-sharing agreement among opposition parties, and only then after a series of more prominent leaders were knocked out of the running by scandal or persecution by the regime. …
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