With the executive and the judiciary under the control of the PSUV, Venezuela's divided opposition in January 2019 united behind the only major institution where they were still influential: the National Assembly and its speaker, Juan Guaidó.

Arguing that Mr Maduro's re-election was not valid and the presidency was therefore vacant, Mr Guaidó, with the backing of the National Assembly, declared himself "interim president".

And while more than 50 countries, including the US and the UK, recognised Mr Guaidó as Venezuela's legitimate leader, Venezuela's military stayed loyal to Mr Maduro and - with the continued support of China and Russia - he remained firmly in charge of the country.

But tougher US sanctions made it harder for the Maduro government to sell oil and restricted its access to foreign currency.

With the economy in freefall, in 2019 Mr Maduro relaxed some of the strict foreign currency regulations brought in by Chávez.

Shortages eased as a result and, in 2021, the economy started growing. But extreme poverty remains shockingly high and many of those without access to foreign currency continue to struggle.

Disillusioned with the failure of Juan Guaidó to seize control of anything more than some Venezuelan embassies and assets abroad, the majority of opposition parties withdrew their support from him in December 2022 and dissolved his "interim government".

In October 2023, the opposition organised a primary to choose a unity candidate to take on the government candidate in the upcoming presidential election.

Former lawmaker María Corina Machado won it by a landslide, despite having been banned by the comptroller-general, an ally of President Maduro, from holding public office.

After her appeal against the ban was rejected, she threw her weight behind ex-diplomat Edmundo González as the unity candidate to take on President Maduro in the presidential election on 28 July.

The opposition is hoping that the level of support for Mr González will not just be enough to oust Mr Maduro from office but also be so convincing it will thwart any possible attempts by Maduro's allies to overturn a potential win by Mr González.

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