The original content of Democracy Now! Headlines appears under the Creative Commons BY-NC-ND 3.0 License (United States). For more, including their other shows and media, visit www.democracynow.org. October 23, 2023 Opposition Leader María Corina Machado Wins Venezuela Presidential Primary -------------------------------------------------------------------------- In Venezuela, voters took to the polls Sunday for a presidential primary election to decide who will challenge President Nicolás Maduro next year. Former Venezuelan lawmaker María Corina Machado quickly declared victory after preliminary results showed she received over 90% of the votes. Machado has vowed to privatize Venezuela's state oil industry. This was the first time Venezuela's fractured opposition coalition held a primary since at least 2012. Last week Maduro's government and opposition leaders agreed to new rules ahead of next year's presidential general election. The move is expected to clear the way for the United States to ease its harsh sanctions on Venezuela. .