Venezuelan opposition leader faces deadline for standing down in race against Maduro

By REGINA GARCIA CANO and JOSHUA GOODMAN
Associated Press

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado faces a choice on which the hopes of millions of Venezuelans fighting to restore their democracy depends. As a March 25 deadline nears to register to compete in this summer’s presidential election, Machado faces pressure from foreign leaders and fellow government opponents to abandon her dead-end candidacy, because she’s technically barred from office. They want her to stand aside in favor of a substitute to take on the entrenched President Nicolás Maduro, though another viable candidate hasn’t yet emerged. It’s a choice that’s complicated by Venezuela’s increasingly authoritarian tilt. The last election widely recognized as meeting international standards took place almost a decade ago