CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — The head of Venezuela’s opposition alliance resigned Wednesday, delivering a blow to anti-government forces bitterly divided over how best to challenge socialist President Nicolas Maduro as frustrations rise with his handling of the struggling economy.

Ramon Guillermo Aveledo had held the perennially fractious opposition together ever since the Democratic Unity alliance was created five years ago. After years of infighting and fumbled strategies, like a decision to boycott 2005 legislative elections, he helped rally a diverse range of opposition parties behind a single presidential candidate, Henrique Capriles, who on two occasions almost unseated the ruling socialist party.