María Corina Machado

María Corina Machado Parisca (born 7 October 1967) is a Venezuelan opposition politician and industrial engineer who served as an elected member of the National Assembly of Venezuela from 2011 to 2014. Machado was the founder and former leader of the Venezuelan volunteer civil organization Súmate, alongside Alejandro Plaz. In 2018, she was listed as one of BBC's 100 Women.

Machado was a candidate in the 2012 Venezuelan presidential election but lost the opposition primary to Henrique Capriles. During the 2014 Venezuelan protests, Machado was one of the lead figures in organizing protests against the government of Nicolás Maduro. In 2019, amid the Venezuelan presidential crisis, she announced that she would launch a second presidential run if disputed interim President Juan Guaidó successfully called for an election; Guaidó was ultimately unsuccessful in his efforts. She was a precandidate for Vente Venezuela in the primary elections of the Unitary Platform of 2023, although on 30 June 2023 she was disqualified for fifteen years by the Comptroller General of Venezuela. Her disqualification was confirmed by the Supreme Court of Justice of Venezuela in January 2024. After winning the primary elections, Machado was declared the opposition candidate for the 2024 presidential elections, though she was replaced by Corina Yoris on 22 March 2024. Yoris was prevented from registering as a candidate and was temporarily replaced by Edmundo González Urrutia.

Early life and education
Machado was born in Caracas, Venezuela, on 7 October 1967. The oldest of four sisters, she is the daughter of Henrique Machado Zuloaga, a prominent steel businessman and Corina Parisca, a psychologist. Her ancestors included Eduardo Blanco, the author of the 1881 classic Venezuela Heroica and a relative who was killed in an uprising against Venezuelan dictator Juan Vicente Gómez.

Machado has a degree in industrial engineering from Andrés Bello Catholic University and a master's degree in finance from Instituto de Estudios Superiores de Administración (IESA, business school) in Caracas. She was also part of Yale University's World Fellows Program in 2009.

In 1992, as a mother of three, Machado started Fundación Atenea (Atenea Foundation), a foundation using private donations to care for orphaned and delinquent Caracas street children; she also served as chair of the Opportunitas Foundation. After working in the auto industry in Valencia she moved in 1993 to Caracas. Because of her role in Súmate, Machado left the foundation so that it would not be politicized.

Súmate
The founding of Venezuelan volunteer civil organization Súmate resulted from a hurried encounter between Machado and Alejandro Plaz in a hotel lobby in 2001, where they shared their concern about the course that was being shaped for Venezuela. Machado said: "Something clicked. I had this unsettling feeling that I could not stay at home and watch the country get polarized and collapse ... We had to keep the electoral process but change the course, to give Venezuelans the chance to count ourselves, to dissipate tensions before they built up. It was a choice of ballots over bullets."

Súmate led a petition drive for the 2004 Venezuelan recall referendum of Hugo Chávez, then president of Venezuela. According to CBS News, Chávez branded the leaders of Súmate as conspirators, coup plotters, and lackeys of the U.S. government. After the referendum, members of Súmate were charged with treason and conspiracy, under Article 132 of the Venezuelan Penal Code, for receiving financial support for their activities from the National Endowment for Democracy (NED). In 2005, Machado faced conspiracy charge stemming from the $31,000 grant from the NED for "non-partisan educational work". That same year, The New York Times said she was "the Venezuelan government's most detested adversary, a young woman with a quick wit and machine-gun-fast delivery who often appears in Washington or Madrid to denounce what she calls the erosion of democracy under President Hugo Chávez", and stated the Venezuelan government considers her "a member of a corrupt elite that is doing the bidding of the much reviled Bush administration".

A U.S. Department of State spokesperson said the decision to prosecute her was "part of President Hugo Chávez's campaign ... aimed at frightening members of civil society and preventing them from exercising their democratic rights", adding that the George W. Bush administration was "seriously concerned" about the Supreme Tribunal of Justice's (TSJ) decision. The criminal charges triggered condemnation from Human Rights Watch and democracy groups, the U.S. Embassy in Venezuela, and a coalition of world leaders. Machado acknowledged the support of Venezuelans for Chávez, saying: "We have to recognize the positive things that have been done", but says that the president is "increasingly intolerant."

Machado and Plaz were invited to meet with National Assembly legislators in August 2006 for an investigation about Súmate's funding but were denied access to the hearing, although they say they received two letters requesting their presence. She also faced treason charges for signing the Carmona Decree during the 2002 Venezuelan coup attempt. Machado said that she wrote her name on what she believed to be a sign-in sheet while visiting the presidential palace. The charges carry a penalty of more than a decade in prison; the trial was suspended in February 2006 because of due process violations by the trial judge, and has been postponed.

2011 presidential candidacy
In 2011, Machado launched her candidacy for the 2012 Venezuelan presidential election. The Los Angeles Times said that her name was raised as a potential candidate, and Michael Shifter stated that she was a future presidential contender "who can effectively communicate a vision for a post-Chávez Venezuela that can appeal to enough Chávez supporters". According to the Financial Times, Machado was "dubbed the new face of the opposition ... Even President Hugo Chávez has spoken of confronting her in the 2012 presidential elections."

On 13 January 2012, during the annual State of the Nation Speech delivered by Chávez to the Venezuelan National Assembly, Machado confronted him about shortages of basic goods, crime, and nationalizations of basic industries. She said: "How can you say that you protect private property when you have been expropriating small businesses; expropriating and not paying is stealing." The winner of the 2012 primary to be the opposition candidate against Chávez in the October presidential election was Henrique Capriles Radonski; according to the Associated Press, Machado "conceded defeat before the results were announced, saying she also will actively back Capriles".

Candidacy
In February 2010, Machado resigned from Súmate and announced her candidacy for the National Assembly of Venezuela. She represented Miranda for the Chacao, Baruta, El Hatillo, and the Parroquia Leoncio Martínez de Sucre municipalities. She was a Justice First (Primero Justicia) party member of the Coalition for Democratic Unity (Mesa de la Unidad Democrática – MUD) in opposition to Chávez's party, the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (Partido Socialista Unido de Venezuela – PSUV). In announcing her candidacy, she said Venezuelans were good, decent, and free people who do not want to live with violence or hate; she promised to defend the right for Venezuelans to think freely and live without fear. In April 2010, Machado won the primary election. She campaigned actively in "slums once viewed as solid pro-Chávez territory", attempting to "capitalize on domestic problems, including widespread violent crime, power outages in some regions, a severe housing shortage and 30-percent inflation".

Machado complained that MUD candidates faced "what she called a government-orchestrated propaganda machine that churns out spots ridiculing Chávez's critics, runs talk shows dominated by ruling party hopefuls and picks up all of the president's speeches", and that she had to campaign with less funds as she "struggled to convince supporters and business leaders to contribute to her campaign because they fear reprisals by the government and Chávez-friendly prosecutors". According to The Economist, Venezuela's constitution "prohibits government officials, including the president, from using their position to favour a political tendency. But the electoral authority, whose board comprises four chavistas and a lone oppositionist, says they can do it anyway."

Chávez was accused of breaking campaign laws by using state-run television to "berate rivals and praise friends" during the election campaign; he denied breaking the law, and suggested that the only director of the National Election Council's five directors who is not pro-Chávez and who raised the issue could be prosecuted for making the charges. According to a reporter for the Associated Press, Venezuela's electoral council "has for years ignored laws that bar the president and other elected officials from actively campaigning for candidates. Chavez ... has threatened legal action against Vicente Diaz, the lone member of the electoral council who has criticized his heavy use of state media ahead of the vote." Machado said: "While we are visiting voters, going from house to house, the ruling party's campaign is imposed through televised speeches." When the state-run television channel interviewed Machado, they ran images of her Oval Office meeting in 2005 with George W. Bush, described by an Associated Press reporter as "Chavez's longtime nemesis". She said: "We have a campaign led by the PSUV with a lot of resources that we know are public resources – even when the constitution prohibits it. The PSUV benefitted from frequent cadenas (Chávez speeches that every Venezuelan TV channel are mandated to run), while "the main government channel air[ed] a steady stream of rallies and ads featuring Chavez's red-clad candidates". When Machado was interviewed by the state-run channel, the interview was "abruptly cut off" and "shifted to a campaign rally where Chávez spoke to a theater filled with supporters".

Election
Machado won the election to the National Assembly on 25 September 2010, as the highest vote-getter in the nation; she and fellow Justice First Miranda candidate Enrique Mendoza were the "two highest vote-getters nationwide". Machado said the president "made a big mistake by turning the election into a plebiscite on himself ... This is a clear signal that Venezuelans do not want an authoritarian government, a militarized government, a centralized government and a government that wants to turn Venezuela into Cuba ... A new phase begins today, and we've taken a big step toward the day when democratic values, freedom, justice and good governance prevail." She added: "We now have the legitimacy of the citizen vote. We are the representatives of the people." She concluded: "It is very clear. Venezuela said no to Cuban-like communism."

Removal
On 21 March 2014, Machado appeared as an alternate envoy at the request of Panama at the Organization of American States (OAS), amid the protests in Venezuela, to speak about the situation in Venezuela. According to The Wall Street Journal, following her appearance at the OAS, "pro-Maduro parliamentarians, who dominate the National Assembly", claimed her appearance at the OAS was prohibited by Venezuela's constitution, and removed her from the National Assembly. Machado responded by accusing Diosdado Cabello (president of the National Assembly) of having a "dictatorship in the National Assembly", and said that her removal from the National Assembly was illegal.

2014 protests


Machado was among the leaders of the opposition demonstrations against Nicolás Maduro in the 2014 Venezuelan protests. Venezuela's Congress on 18 March 2014 requested a criminal investigation of Machado for crimes including treason for her involvement in the anti-government protests. Machado responded to the accusations saying: "In a dictatorship, the weaker the regime is, the greater the repression." After her removal on 21 March 2014, Machado, along with supporters, began a march on 1 April 2014 toward downtown Caracas protesting against Machado's expulsion, where Machado attempted to return to her seat in the National Assembly. The demonstrators were prevented from leaving by the National Guard, which dispersed them with tear gas.

In May 2014, Venezuelan government official Jorge Rodríguez presented allegations of a plot by opposition politicians and officials, including Machado, to overthrow the Maduro's government. The evidence provided by the Venezuelan government were alleged emails through Google that were addressed to others from both Machado and Pedro Mario Burelli. Burelli responded that the emails were falsified by the Bolivarian Intelligence Service (SEBIN), showing what he said were the original emails. In June 2014, Venezuela's attorney general Luisa Ortega Díaz subpoenaed Machado along with Burelli, Diego Arria, and Ricardo Koesling. By 11 June 2014, arrest warrants were issued. Burelli hired Kivu, a U.S.-based cybersecurity company, to analyze the alleged emails. Kivu concluded that there was "no evidence of the existence of any emails between Pedro Burelli's Google email accounts and the alleged recipients", that the alleged emails presented by the Venezuelan government had "many indications of user manipulation" and that "Venezuelan officials used forged emails to accuse government adversaries of plotting to kill President Nicolas Maduro".

In November 2014, government officials announced that Machado was to be formally charged on 3 December 2014. Machado and others stated that the accusations were false and were created by the Venezuelan government to deflect attention from Venezuela's economic problems and polls showing Maduro's approval rating at a record low of 30%.

Later political career
On 1 February 2019, Machado announced her intent to run for president if Juan Guaidó calls elections, owing to the 2019 Venezuelan presidential crisis. For the next Venezuelan presidential election, Machado was recognized as a front-running opposition candidate. In an interview discussing the election, Machado insisted that she was not interested in the opposition primary and said that "my goal is to get Maduro out and be able to defeat the regime using all the force." She argued: "There are only two options here, ... We win with a huge majority or Maduro steals the election." According to head of the Delphos pollster Félix Seijas, "[t]he opposition as it existed is no longer, and that opens the door for her to capture support beyond her radical base", while explaining her expanded support. On 30 June 2023, she was reportedly disqualified from holding office for 15 years by the government due to her leadership in anti-government protests.

2023 presidential primary elections
On 14 August 2022, Machado confirmed her participation in the 2023 Unitary Platform presidential primaries. During the primaries, Machado positioned herself against the technical assistance of the National Electoral Council (CNE) in the election, alleging that CNE is part of a "criminal system. In the same way, she defended the return to manual voting. On 15 March 2023, she officially began her campaign tour of the country, in the State of Mérida. During her pre-campaign, Machado maintained criticism towards the traditional opposition leadership, mainly the Democratic Action, Justice First, A New Era, and Popular Will parties. She also made it clear that she was willing to negotiate an exit from Chavismo to achieve a transition.

On 30 June 2023, she was disqualified for fifteen years by the Comptroller General of Venezuela, after a request from the politician José Brito. The comptroller linked her to alleged crimes by Juan Guaidó and accused her of supporting sanctions during the Venezuelan crisis. Analysts determined that the accusation of having participated in the interim was incoherent, taking into account that she was not a member of the 2015 opposition National Assembly (being prevented by a disqualification from the Comptroller's Office), in addition to never having been appointed in any position in Guaidó's interim government. Organizations like the United Nations, the Organization of American States, and the European Union, as well as countries such as Colombia, Paraguay, Uruguay, Ecuador, United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Chile, Canada, and France, rejected the disqualification of Machado. The European Union Parliament called the ban "arbitrary and politically fabricated", and the Associated Press stated the banning opposing politicians from elections is a frequent tactic used by the government.

On 26 October 2023, after winning the primary elections, the National Primary Commission proclaimed María Corina as the unitary presidential candidate of the opposition.

Machado's 15-year disqualification was confirmed by the Supreme Court of Justice of Venezuela in January 2024. The court said the disqualification was "for being involved... in the corruption plot orchestrated by the usurper Juan Guaido", which had led to a "criminal blockade of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, as well as the shameless dispossession of the companies and wealth of the Venezuelan people abroad, with the complicity of corrupt governments".

Machado named Corina Yoris as her alternate. Yoris was unable to register as a candidate and named Edmundo González Urrutia as her temporary replacement.

Political views
Machado is anti-chavismo and has disagreed with other sections of the Venezuelan opposition. In 2011, she campaigned as a promotor of "popular capitalism". Machado supports the privatization of state-run entities in Venezuela, including oil company PDVSA. Machado has supported the international sanctions during the Venezuelan crisis, and has advocated for foreign intervention inside Venezuela, believing that Nicolás Maduro could not be removed democratically. In 2023, she changed her stance, participating as a candidate in the opposition presidential primaries and asking Venezuelans to participate "overwhelming" in the elections.

She has described herself as a centrist liberal, saying in an interview with El Estímulo that the categories of left and right were invented by Marxists and that she is the only non-socialist politician in the Venezuelan political spectrum. Machado said: "We are a centre liberal party, so they say it is from the extreme right, because for the Marxists if you are not from the left you are from the ultra right, but Vente is a party of centre liberals." She also stated that the division of the country and life between rich and poor sought to manipulate, simplify and appeal to populism as a control of the person and the individual. Machado has been described as a radical and a right-wing politician.

Domestically, Machado has called for the banning of reelection to political offices in Venezuela, is in favor of same-sex marriage in Venezuela, supports the legalization of medical cannabis, and has called on a national debate regarding the legality of abortion. She believes that those who have more, should give more, and defended the saying that "being rich is good"; she criticized Hugo Chávez, saying that "Chávez was the president of the poor, yes, very poor that he loved them, because there is no more effective way to control a society than to subject it to dependency. Dying with outstretched hand."

Target of violence
Described as a Lady of Steel, or Iron Lady, The New York Times states that supporters see her as "courageous for staying in Venezuela when many other politicians have fled".

While attending the bicentennial celebration of Venezuela's Declaration of Independence on 5 July 2011, following controversial comments made earlier by Machado about Venezuela's dependency on Cuba and not being independent, Machado was attacked by an angry group of Venezuelan government supporters. The group of about 50 threw stones and bottles at her; authorities defended her, and one officer was injured, as Machado was evacuated from the area by a police motorbike. Machado later thanked the authorities for defending her and apologized for any of their injuries.

During Machado's presidential race in 2011, she and her companions were attacked on 16 October by a small group of the Motorized Front of the PSUV while in Turmero, injuring Machado and two others. The group attacked them with kicks, punches and objects while saying "this is chavista territory no political opposition enters here".

On 30 April 2013, cameras covering the National Assembly were turned to the ceiling and opposition members stated they were attacked and assaulted in an "ambush by supporters of President Nicolas Maduro's government". Machado was injured, along with other legislators in the National Assembly, saying she was attacked from behind, hit in the face and kicked while on the floor which left her with a broken nose. Machado said the brawl "was a premeditated, cowardly, vile, aggression". Maduro responded to the situation by saying: "What happened today in the National Assembly, we do not agree with violence. They tell us and we knew that the opposition was coming to provoke violence." No disciplinary actions was taken against any of the attackers after the incident.

At a rally on 16 November 2013 showing support for the opposition party during municipal elections, Machado and other politicians were attacked by government supporters, with stones and fireworks.

After leading protests in Bolivar state on 14 March 2014, Machado, the Bishop of Ciudad Guayana, Mariano Parra, and other citizens in the area were attacked at the Puerto Ordaz airport. The National Guard intervened to disperse the attack.

While heading to a meeting in Caricuao on 30 July 2014, members of colectivos attacked Machado. The vehicle Machado was traveling in was heavily damaged, with the body and windows of the vehicle being struck with gun handles, sticks and stones. Machado escaped and was then moved to the assembly place while colectivos followed breaking down the door where they then left the scene after confrontations with residents protecting Machado.

Awards and recognition
In May 2005, the then U.S. president George W. Bush welcomed Machado to the Oval Office. After meeting with Machado and discussing Súmate's "efforts to safeguard the integrity and transparency of Venezuela's electoral process", a White House spokesperson said, "[t]he President expressed his concerns about efforts to harass and intimidate Súmate and its leadership". Machado was hailed by National Review in 2006 as "the best of womankind and the difficult times many women face around the globe" on a list of Women the World Should Know for International Women's Day.

In 2009, Machado was chosen out of 900 applicants as one of 15 accepted to the Yale World Fellows Program. The Yale University program "aim[s] to build a global network of emerging leaders and to broaden international understanding worldwide. ... 'Each of the 2009 Yale World Fellows has demonstrated an outstanding record of accomplishment and unlimited potential for future success,' said Program Director Michael Cappello." The Yale World Fellows Program press release said: "Machado devotes herself to defending democratic institutions and civil liberties through SUMATE, the nation's leading watchdog for electoral transparency." Machado would later graduate from the program.

Awards

 * 2015, Cádiz Cortes Ibero-American Freedom Prize, which was awarded "given the unblemished defense of freedom in your community and minimum requirements of the realization of human rights in the same, which has led them to be subject to public rebuke of their government, including the flagrant situation of imprisonment or the cutting of your minimal civil rights."
 * 2018, BBC's 100 Most Influential Women.
 * 2019, Prize for Freedom from Liberal International.

Personal life
Machado is divorced and has three children; her children live abroad as Machado says their lives have been threatened.