Venezuelan election could lead to seismic shift in politics or give President Maduro six more years

The people of Venezuela are voting in a presidential election whose outcome will either lead to a seismic shift in politics or extend by six more years the policies that caused the world’s worst peacetime economic collapse. Whether it is President Nicolás Maduro who is chosen or his main opponent, former diplomat Edmundo González, Sunday's election will have ripple effects throughout the Americas. That's because government opponents and supporters alike have signaled their interest in emigrating if Maduro wins the election. More than 7.7 million people have already left the country. An estimated 17 million Venezuelans are eligible to vote.