The Venezuelan opposition re-elected its leader, Juan Guaido, as interim president on Monday night for a one-year term.
Several countries recognize Guaido as the real president of Venezuela, leading him and his government to control various Venezuelan properties located in those countries. Domestically, however, Guaido has no real power.
In early 2019, Guaido, then speaker of parliament, declared himself interim president after the international community failed to recognize the re-election of current president Nicolas Maduro. The opposition had boycotted the election at the time and called it “fraudulent” afterwards.
The opposition-controlled Venezuelan National Assembly thus reconfirmed Guaido as president. However, that parliament was stripped of its power in 2017 with a pro-Maduro Constituent Assembly election.
The 2020 parliamentary elections were also boycotted by the opposition, allowing the regime to retake control of the National Assembly.