From the New York Times, I'm Sabrina Tavernisee, and this is the Daily.

For years, Venezuelans have been living through one of the most severe economic collapses in modern history,

one that has caused about a quarter of the country to flee. But this weekend,

an election is offering many a real hope for change. Today, my colleague Julie Turkquoise, on the woman who's inspiring that hope, and why, after years

under a repressive government, Venezuelans think this time might be different.

It's Friday, July 26th. So Julie we've spent a lot of time over the past couple of days on the show

talking about the thing that everybody is talking about which is the American presidential

election. But there's another important election happening and that is the one in

Venezuela on Sunday. The outcome could have some pretty serious repercussions both for

Latin America and also for the United States. You are covering it. Talk to me about what's at stake here. So Venezuela is a

country of roughly 28 million people that has seen somewhere between 7 and 8 million people leave in the last 10 years.

In other words, about a quarter of the country has left.

Many of our listeners have heard about this exodus because in recent years,

many Venezuelans are showing up in the United States,

many of them are seeking asylum, and what they are leaving behind

is a pretty stark economic, humanitarian, and political crisis.

And I think it's important to note

that the only other places in the world

in which we see in Exodus,

this large are places that are experiencing war.

If you're talking about Syria, Ukraine, the conflict in Afghanistan,

Venezuela does not have an armed conflict, but it has a very dysfunctional economy and it has a very repressive government.

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