Edmundo González has become a beacon of hope for millions of Venezuelans. They want to call him president. He believes he won that office at the ballot box last year. The government of President Nicolás Maduro says he did not.

Ahead is Maduro's toughest challenge yet — one that will determine the future of Venezuela's already debilitated democracy. A biopic produced for last year's campaign recounted how Maduro grew up in a working-class barrio of Caracas torn between his love of baseball and student activism.

González, 75, had been enjoying retirement after a career as a diplomat when the coalition selected him in April as a last-minute stand-in for opposition powerhouse Maria Corina