Who is Edmundo Gonzalez, Maduro's competitor in the Venezuelan elections? world

Gonzalez is 74 years old, and served as ambassador to Algeria between 1991 and 1993. He was also ambassador to Argentina in the early years of Hugo Chavez's government (1999-2013).

He has published several books and, as a member of the opposition, was an international representative of the Democratic Unity Roundtable between 2013 and 2015.

Political analysts point out that one of the main challenges facing Gonzalez, as a conservative candidate, is making his name known among voters in the short term.

“He is an unknown candidate. Your challenge will be precisely to achieve that recognition,” Ricardo Ríos, who runs local consultancy Estrategia y Poder, told Reuters.

Although the opposition hoped to find a unity candidate, the coalition ultimately decided to support González. His name was announced by the Democratic Unionist Platform Party, the opposition coalition, after Corinna Joris was banned from running in the presidential elections. In March, the coalition announced that “access to the registration system” was not permitted.

Joris was appointed as a replacement for María Corina Machado, who was also barred from registering, despite winning the opposition primary in October.

Opposition leaders accuse the government of imposing obstacles to opposition candidates. The government denies these accusations.

Former diplomat Edmundo Gonzalez also worked in the 1990s behind the scenes at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Most recently, he was the international relations advisor to the opposition coalition.

“Edmundo is very professional, discreet and has very strong democratic convictions. He does not like to use flowery or extreme words,” said Jesus Torrealba, former secretary general of the opposition coalition.

Opposition Leader José Guerra praised González for his extensive knowledge of international, economic and political issues. He also noted that the former diplomat speaks French and English, in addition to his mother tongue, Spanish.

“He is very tolerant and listens,” Guerra said, adding: “He will have a tough campaign.”

*With information from Reuters and BBC