The name of María Corina Machado, leader of anti-Chavismo in Venezuela, transcended borders and was the center of a heated discussion at the Mercosur summit. And it is that Venezuelan politics is one of the favorite pre-candidates for the 2024 presidential elections. The threat posed by the opposition is such that the government of Nicolás Maduro, who aspires to renew his mandate, promoted his disqualification from holding public office for 15 years.
The leader is a 55-year-old political leader, mother of three children, former deputy, teacher, industrial engineer and has a specialization in Finance at the Institute of Higher Administration Studies, IESA, the most important business school in the country.
The woman, who aspires to succeed President Nicolás Maduro, is the founder of the political movement Sell Venezuelaco-founder of the civil association summate and member of the citizen platform I am Venezuelan.
Chavismo prevents one of the main opposition candidates from being a candidate
Born on October 7, 1967 in Caracas, Venezuela, Corina Machado belongs to a recognized family in her country. His father, Henrique Machado Zuloaga, was an important businessman in the metallurgical sector, while her mother, Corina Parisca, is a well-known and appreciated psychologist in civil society.
The family of the political leader was founder of the old Electricity of Caracas, one of the great national capital corporations of the 20th century. The Machado companies, especially the Sivensa and Sidetur steel companies, were expropriated and destroyed by the Chavista administration.
The former candidate entered public life in 2004 when she founded Súmate, which later became a well-known NGO linked to the opposition. In addition, she was recognized for her comptroller position during the first years of Hugo Chávez’s government.
María Corina Machado was disqualified from holding public office for fifteen years.
The discussion for Venezuela raised the tension at the Mercosur Summit
The ex-deputy’s speech is openly anti-communist and nationalist, rooted in the upper classes of tradition in the country. In this sense, when he created the Vente Venezuela party in 2012, he gave it the foundations of a market economy, a minimal State, social guarantees, privatization and business leadership.
Corina Machado began her mandate as a deputy of the National Assembly for the State of Miranda in January 2011. That year she became the most voted candidate in the history of the Chamber. However, in March 2014 she was removed from her position due to an alleged violation of the Constitution as a result of having accepted the position of “alternate ambassador” of Panama before the Organization of American States (OAS).
In recent years, the opposition He was the most visible head of the most intransigent sector of anti-Chavismo. In this regard, he refused to enter into political negotiations with the Bolivarian leadership, did not formalize alliances with specific sectors of the opposition, arguing ethical reservations, and maintained a firm discourse in defense of private property. She also calls government politicians “criminals” and is convinced that it will not be possible to achieve a return to democratic legality without resorting to force.
In 2018, the former deputy ranked 52nd on the list of the 100 most influential and inspiring women in the world according to BBC. “María Corina has campaigned to safeguard democratic processes in Venezuela,” the outlet said on that occasion.
“I have had to break paradigms, overcome resistance and prejudices for my family, for the studies I have done, for being a woman and for my way of being: direct and sometimes radical. But if they refer to me with terms like iron and steel, I feel happy for that, for the firmness and reliability that these materials represent,” said Corina Machado in dialogue with the Spanish portal The debate.
“Ideologically speaking I am liberal, I believe in democracy, in the rule of law, in private property and in the market, but I am not from the left or the right because that no longer exists. My ideology has more to do with ethics and spirituality. I connect with people from there, with all my emotionality,” he said.
Disqualification from holding any public office
The last friday, the pre-candidate was disqualified from holding public office for a period of fifteen years. The Comptroller’s text, which keeps an extensive list of opponents disqualified, was read by deputy José Brito, who requested Machado’s “status” on June 26. Among the names unable to run in the elections are the two-time candidate for the Executive Henrique Capriles, as well as Juan Guaidó, who fled to the United States in April.
“I fulfill the duty to inform you that the citizen María Corina Machado Parisca (…) was imposed the sanction of disqualification from the exercise of any public office (…) on July 13, 2015” for a period 15 years old, reviews the trade. In principle, the disqualification imposed in 2015 was valid for one yearbut the Comptroller’s Office continued to investigate it during subsequent years.
According to the government institution, the measure is based on “administrative irregularities” when she was a deputy (2011-2014). Added to this, he is accused of having participated in “a corruption plot” headed by Guaidó, who was recognized between January 2019 and January 2023 as president in charge of Venezuela by fifty governments that ignored Maduro’s re-election in 2018 for consider it “fraudulent”.
Given the disqualification, Corina Machado assured this Tuesday that it is a “boomerang” that will end up harming the Venezuelan government. “Much more than useless, this supposed disqualification is a big mistake. This has become a real boomerang for the regime and we are seeing the reactions inside and outside Venezuela,” the woman remarked.
“Nicolás Maduro, you are not the one who is going to choose the candidate who will face and defeat you in the 2024 presidential elections“said Corina Machado, who was nominated for the primaries that the rivals of the socialist ruler will hold in October in order to choose a “unitary” candidate.
“That candidate will be chosen by the people of Venezuela on October 22 in the primary elections. And to the international community we want to say that prepare for the defeat of Nicolás Maduro and the start of an orderly transition in the country“He said at a press conference.
Despite the political setback, he assured that “now we are going with more enthusiasm” and ruled out abandoning the contest. “This last outburst, it was what we already knew, nobody is surprised, that was coming, but if they believe or thought that this farce of disqualification was going to discourage participation in the primaries, they should prepare, because If we were going strong, now we are going stronger“, he pointed out during a political act.
The European Union expressed “concern” about the disqualification
The European Union (EU) declared on Monday his “deep concern” about the disqualification of pre-candidates to public office in Venezuela, at the same time that he suggested reviewing the role of the Comptroller General in the case.
Through an official note, the office of the head of EU diplomacy, Josep Borrell, expressed concern “over the decisions aimed at prevent members of the opposition from exercising their fundamental political rightsas has been the case with María Corina Machado and other political figures”.
In response, Maduro’s government defended the Comptroller’s decision and asked for non-interference in its internal affairs. “The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela categorically rejects Borrell’s statement,” said a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Venezuela “reiterates to the representatives of the European Union that the legality and legitimacy of the Venezuelan electoral process does not depend, nor will it depend, on any foreign actor (…) in this sense, it requires refraining from issuing interfering statements in order to preserve a respectful reciprocal relationship,” the text added.
The OAS described the measure as “arbitrary and contrary to the rule of law”
The decision of the Venezuelan Comptroller’s Office did not go unnoticed by the Organization of American States (OAS)who spoke out against the disqualification of Corina Machado’s candidacy.
Through a statement, the OAS General Secretariat condemned the “disqualification from the exercise of any public office to María Corina Machado.” The decision, which was described as “arbitrary and contrary to the rule of law”“violates elementary political and civil rights, including those stipulated in Article 23 of the American Convention on Human Rights regarding the right to elect and be elected,” the letter reads.
“The regime resorts to disqualifications and proscriptions to cling to power and liquidate any semblance of democracy while deepening the political, social, humanitarian and economic crisis that the country is experiencing,” the text continues. “The Secretary General challenges this decision and demands the necessary conditions for Venezuela to have fair, free and transparent elections in 2024, and can thus achieve its democratization”, he concludes.
In line with his statements, the United States considered that the measure goes against “basic political rights”. In this sense, Matthew Miller, spokesman for the State Department, assured in a note that the disqualification “deprives the Venezuelan people of basic political rights.” “Venezuelans deserve the right to choose a candidate to participate in the 2024 presidential elections without interference,” he said.
The name of María Corina Machado reached the Mercosur Summit
Luis Lacalle Pou and Mario Abdo Benítez spoke in favor of María Corina Machado during the Mercosur summit.
For its part, Mercosur showed cracks regarding the Venezuelan situation. In that sense, The presidents of Uruguay and Paraguay expressed this Tuesday their “concern” about the disqualificationa position with which his counterparts from Argentina and Brazil disagreed during a summit of the economic bloc.
“The disqualification” of Machado “it clashes head-on and scandalously with the clear letter of human rights”assured the Paraguayan president, Mario Abdo Benitez. “Administrative restrictions on political rights should always be viewed with suspicion and considered legally invalid,” she added.
His Uruguayan counterpart, Luis Lacalle Pou, agreed with his position. “It is clear that Venezuela will not go out to a healthy democracy if when there is a hint of the possibility of an election, (a) a candidate such as María Corina Machado, who has enormous potential, is disqualified for political and not legal reasons,” said the president.
And he added: “Mercosur has to give a clear signal so that the Venezuelan people can heading towards a full democracy that clearly today does not have it“.
Alberto Fernandez and Lula da Silva disagreed with the stance of their Uruguay and Paraguay counterparts.
However, the president Alberto Fernandez He expressed that the situation must be brought to the dialogue table in Mexico between the Venezuelan government and the opposition, a mechanism frozen since November 2022. Venezuela’s problems must be faced by Venezuelans and “not the other countries meddling in internal issues”he pointed.
On his side, the Brazilian president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silvaclaimed not to know the details of the Machado case, but called not to “isolate” Venezuela. The leftist leader, who assumes the pro tempore presidency of Mercosur on Tuesday, defended Maduro, describing the allegations of authoritarianism in Venezuela as a “narrative.”
mb / ds