Venezuela opposition rallies against prison time for leader Leopoldo Lopez over 2014 protests

An opposition member wears a mask of jailed opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez during a rally in Caracas, Venezuela, Saturday, Sept. 19, 2015. The opposition is starting their campaign for parliamentary elections, set for December, with demonstrations in Caracas and other cities, in an effort to animate an electorate amid an economic crisis and a growing crime. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano) (The Associated Press)

Lilian Tintori, wife of jailed opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez, cheers to supporters during a rally in Caracas, Venezuela, Saturday, Sept. 19, 2015. The opposition is starting their campaign for parliamentary elections, set for December, with demonstrations in Caracas and other cities, in an effort to animate an electorate amid an economic crisis and a growing crime. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano) (The Associated Press)

Lilian Tintori, wife of jailed opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez, speaks to supporters during a rally in Caracas, Venezuela, Saturday, Sept. 19, 2015. The opposition is starting their campaign for parliamentary elections, set for December, with demonstrations in Caracas and other cities, in an effort to animate an electorate amid an economic crisis and a growing crime. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano) (The Associated Press)

Venezuelans took to the streets in cities around the country to protest the sentence handed down earlier this month to opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez.

Critics of the country's socialist administration dressed in white and waved flags as they voiced their support for Lopez, who received a maximum sentence Sept. 10 for his role as the leader with a large-scale, sometimes violent protest movement in 2014.

Lopez supporters last took to the streets in May, when the imprisoned politician went on strike to demand that the government set a date for legislative elections. Those elections have since been set for Dec. 6 and the opposition is polling well ahead of the socialist party.

No demonstration in the past year has approached the size or intensity of the 2014 movement.