Venezuela: Maria Corina Machado, face and soul of the opposition

Nicknamed the “liberating” by her supporters and awarded the Sakharov Prize, the highest distinction for human rights awarded by the EU, Maria Corina Machado, the leader of the opposition in Venezuela, had been living in hiding since the disputed presidential election in July.

The vote was won, according to the authorities, by Nicolas Maduro, in power since 2013, while the opposition claims the victory of its candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia.

On Thursday, the team of Ms. Machado, 57, affirmed on X that at the end of a demonstration against the inauguration of President Maduro in Caracas, the opponent had been “taken by force” then released, a version denied by the government, which speaks of ” lie “denies having arrested her.

Ms. Machado chose to stay in the country while Mr. Gonzalez Urrutia was forced into exile in September, targeted by an arrest warrant and verbally harassed by those in power.

At the end of September during an interview with AFP, she explained that she sometimes lived “weeks without human contact”stating: “I am where I feel most useful for the fight”.

“If something happens to me, the instructions are very clear (…), no one will negotiate the freedom of Venezuela for my freedom”she said on Monday, during a video call interview with AFP, a few days before the demonstration during which she made her first appearance in public since the end of August on Thursday.

Since the presidential election, she has given virtual interviews and briefly hosted the rare opposition demonstrations.

His method: suddenly appear on a street corner to climb onto a podium truck, harangue the crowd then quickly disappear on a motorbike to escape arrest.

“To the end”

Ms. Machado’s notoriety exploded during the opposition primaries in October 2023, garnering more than 90% of the vote in a show of force with 3 million voters.

She quickly became a poll favorite to be nicknamed the “liberating” (“liberator”), in homage to the «liberator» Simon Bolivar.

Known to be frank and without half-measures, character traits which according to experts have strongly contributed to her popularity, Ms. Machado repeatedly repeated the slogan of her campaign: “until the end”.

Declared ineligible, Corina Machado became spokesperson for the candidacy of Mr. Gonzalez Urrutia, a 74-year-old diplomat unknown to the general public.

Her name was not on the ballots but she was the face and soul of the opposition. She tirelessly crisscrossed the country, campaigning by car, banned from flying. Screams, tears and jostling accompanied his appearances.

Ms. Machado then constantly promised “the change” in Venezuela, led since 1999 by President Hugo Chavez (1999-2013), then his heir Nicolas Maduro.

The latter was proclaimed winner of the last presidential election with 52% of the votes by the National Electoral Council, considered to be under the orders of those in power. He did not publish the details of the votes, claiming to be the victim of computer hacking.

The opposition, which published minutes of the polling stations, assures that Mr. Gonzalez Urrutia won the vote with more than 67% of the votes. The authorities ensure that these reports are « faux ».

It was precisely Ms. Machado who had asked her troops in advance to organize the collection of reports.

This earned him strong international support, with the United States, Europe and many Latin American countries not recognizing Mr. Maduro’s re-election.

For Ms Machado, the Sakharov Prize was a “recognition for every political prisoner, asylum seeker, exile and every citizen of our country who fights for what they believe”.

Liberal, she advocates a market economy and has proposed the privatization of the public oil giant Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA), the country’s main source of income whose production has collapsed due to mismanagement and corruption.

“We will liberate our country and bring our children home”she said in reference to the 7 million Venezuelans who, according to the UN, have left the country in the grip of an endless economic crisis.

This hoped-for return of the diaspora touches her closely. Her three children – Ana Corina, Henrique and Ricardo – live abroad.

An engineer by profession, Ms. Machado began her political journey in 2002 with the creation of the Sumate (Join Us) association, demanding a referendum to dismiss President Chavez.

Accused of treason – Sumate receiving funds from the United States – and the subject of death threats, she then decided to send her young children to live in the United States but regularly swears as her slogan country that she will go “until the end”.