The Albany Gazette - Maduro's hold on power 'unsustainable': Venezuelan opposition leader to AFP

"The regime is absolutely delegitimized... an international pariah," 56-year-old Machado, who has been mostly in hiding since the July 28 vote, said in an interview via Zoom.

"Maduro is trying to convey to his remaining supporters that the situation will stabilize, that the world will turn the page and we Venezuelans will be silent. And that will not happen."

Venezuela's CNE electoral authority, loyal to the regime, declared a victory for Maduro within hours of polls closing, with 52 percent of votes cast.

But most of the international community has refused to accept his win without a detailed vote breakdown, which has not been forthcoming.

The opposition published its own tally of polling station-level results, which it says proves its candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia won two-thirds of the votes cast.

The United States says there was "overwhelming evidence" Gonzalez Urrutia had won.

For Maduro to remain in power was "financially, diplomatically and, most importantly, socially unviable," said Machado.

"It is an unsustainable situation."

Gonzalez Urrutia was a last-minute placeholder candidate for the Democratic Unity Platform (PUD) opposition coalition led by Machado, who herself was disqualified from running by institutions loyal to Maduro.

- 'Crushing defeat' -

Appearing on camera in her signature white shirt in front of a neutral background, Machado reiterated Friday that Maduro had suffered a "crushing defeat" and "no one has any doubt that Edmundo Gonzalez won."

Gonzalez Urrutia, a 75-year-old retired diplomat, left Venezuela this month for asylum in Spain after spending weeks in hiding.

Machado, for her part, has come out in public only a handful of times to lead anti-Maduro protests.

"It's a huge change and a great personal challenge," she told AFP.

"Many months in contact with thousands of people all the time, listening, hugging, kissing, and suddenly not having direct contact."

Dozens of opposition leaders have been arrested since the contested poll, along with more than 2,400 other Venezuelans accused of "terrorism" for allegedly taking part in protests.

Twenty-seven people were killed in the post-election clashes.

In a country where "90 percent of people want change," the only recourse left to Maduro is "violence and spreading terror," said Machado.

She nevertheless called for demonstrations on Saturday to mark two months since the vote but urged several small rallies rather than one centralized protest that could be harshly repressed.

- 'Where I feel most useful' -

Machado said she was grateful for the international support the opposition cause has received.

Even Brazil, Colombia and Mexico, traditionally leftist allies of Venezuela, have not recognized Maduro's victory though they have not rejected it outright.

The United States, along with countries of Europe and the G7 bloc, "are directly talking about a transition to democracy," said the opposition leader.

"When will Maduro have real incentives to sit down and negotiate a transition? The day that the cost of remaining in power is greater than the cost of leaving power.

"So you have to lower the cost of leaving power, increase the cost of holding on to power, and that's exactly what we're doing."

Machado would not be drawn on the guarantees that could be offered to the regime, which enjoys support from a well-established system of political patronage that includes the justice system and military brass, which has sworn "absolute loyalty" to Maduro.

"It is a process that is underway and no one can say how long it will last," said Machado.

In a US election year with the issue of migration firmly on the ballot, she added there was still time to "prevent the largest and most painful wave of migration in this hemisphere."

More than seven million Venezuelans -- nearly a quarter of the country's population -- have left as GDP dropped 80 percent in 10 years after Maduro came to power in 2013.

Machado rejected the idea of following Gonzalez Urrutia into exile.

"I am where I feel most useful for the struggle in Venezuela," she told AFP.

"I'm here accompanying the Venezuelans in a continuing struggle, which is much bigger than any one of us."

(P.Davis--TAG)