María Corina Machado facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
María Corina Machado
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Machado in 2023
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| Member of the National Assembly for Miranda |
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| In office 5 January 2011 – 21 March 2014 |
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| Succeeded by | Ricardo Sánchez |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 7 October 1967 Caracas, Republic of Venezuela |
| Political party | Vente Venezuela (2012–present) |
| Other political affiliations |
Unitary Platform Democratic Unity Roundtable Súmate (2001–2010) |
| Spouse |
Ricardo Sosa Branger
(m. 1990; div. 2001) |
| Children | 3 |
| Parents | Henrique Machado Corina Parisca |
| Education | Andrés Bello Catholic University Instituto de Estudios Superiores de Administración |
| Awards | Sakharov Prize (2024) Václav Havel Human Rights Prize (2024) |
| Signature |  |
María Corina Machado Parisca (born 7 October 1967) is a Venezuelan politician and engineer. She is a well-known leader of the political opposition in Venezuela. From 2011 to 2014, she was an elected member of the National Assembly of Venezuela, which is like the country's parliament.
Machado started her political journey in 2002. She co-founded and led a group called Súmate, which focused on monitoring elections. She is also the national leader of the political party Vente Venezuela. In 2018, the BBC recognized her as one of their "100 Women," a list of influential women worldwide. Machado is seen as a key figure in the Venezuelan opposition.
She ran for president in 2012 but did not win the opposition's primary election. During the 2014 Venezuelan protests, she helped organize demonstrations against the government. In 2019, she announced she would run for president again if new elections were called.
Machado was a candidate in the 2023 primary elections for the opposition. However, in June 2023, the government said she was not allowed to hold public office for 15 years. This decision was confirmed by the Supreme Court in January 2024. Even after winning the primary elections, she could not be the official candidate for the 2024 presidential elections. She was replaced by Corina Yoris, who was also prevented from registering. Later, Edmundo González Urrutia became the temporary replacement.
In August 2024, Machado wrote a letter in The Wall Street Journal. She stated that she had gone into hiding. She expressed concerns for her safety and freedom from the government.
Contents
Early Life and Education
María Corina Machado was born in Caracas, Venezuela, on 7 October 1967. She is the oldest of four sisters. Her father, Henrique Machado Zuloaga, was a well-known steel businessman. Her mother, Corina Parisca, was a psychologist. Her family has a history in Venezuela, including ancestors who were writers and fought against dictators.
Machado studied industrial engineering at Andrés Bello Catholic University. She also earned a master's degree in finance from IESA, a business school in Caracas. In 2009, she was part of the Yale World Fellows Program at Yale University.
In 1992, Machado started a foundation called Fundación Atenea. This foundation used private donations to help orphaned and troubled street children in Caracas. She also led the Opportunitas Foundation. Later, she left Fundación Atenea to keep it separate from her political work with Súmate.
Súmate: A Focus on Elections
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The organization Súmate was founded in 2001 by Machado and Alejandro Plaz. They were both worried about the direction Venezuela was taking. Machado believed it was important to use elections to make changes. She said they chose "ballots over bullets" to solve problems peacefully.
Súmate helped gather signatures for a special vote in 2004. This vote was to decide if Hugo Chávez, who was president then, should continue in office. The government accused Súmate's leaders of being involved in plots. They faced accusations for receiving money from the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) for their work.
In 2005, Machado faced accusations related to a $31,000 grant from the NED. The New York Times described her as a strong opponent of the government. The U.S. Department of State expressed concern about the accusations against her. They saw it as an attempt to stop people from using their democratic rights. Human rights groups also spoke out against the accusations. Machado recognized that many Venezuelans supported Chávez. However, she also said the president was becoming "increasingly intolerant."
Machado also faced accusations for signing a document during a political event in 2002. She stated she thought it was just a sign-in sheet. The trial related to these accusations was stopped in 2006 due to legal issues.
Presidential Candidacy in 2011
In 2011, María Corina Machado announced she would run for president. She wanted to be the opposition's candidate in the 2012 Venezuelan presidential election. Many people saw her as a new and important figure in the opposition. Even President Hugo Chávez mentioned her as a potential opponent.
On 13 January 2012, Machado spoke directly to Chávez during his annual speech. She questioned him about problems like shortages of goods and crime. She said, "How can you say that you protect private property when you have been expropriating small businesses; expropriating and not paying is stealing." In the end, Henrique Capriles Radonski won the opposition primary. Machado accepted her defeat and promised to support Capriles.
National Assembly Role
Becoming a Candidate
In February 2010, Machado left Súmate to run for the National Assembly of Venezuela. She represented an area in Miranda state. She was part of the Justice First party, which was part of the opposition group called the Coalition for Democratic Unity (MUD). She promised to defend the right of Venezuelans to think freely and live without fear. In April 2010, she won the primary election. She campaigned in many areas, focusing on issues like crime and housing shortages.
Machado stated that opposition candidates faced challenges. She said the government used state-run media to promote its own candidates and criticize opponents. She also mentioned that it was hard to raise money for her campaign. This was because supporters and businesses feared consequences from the government.
Election Success
Machado won her election to the National Assembly on 25 September 2010. She received the most votes of any candidate in the country. She said that the election showed Venezuelans did not want an authoritarian government. She believed it was a step towards a future with democratic values and freedom.
Removal from Office
On 21 March 2014, Machado spoke at the Organization of American States (OAS). She was there to talk about the situation in Venezuela during protests. After her speech, government-supporting members of the National Assembly claimed her appearance was against Venezuela's constitution. They then removed her from her seat. Machado called this action illegal and accused the Assembly's president of acting like a dictator.
Protests and Activism in 2014
Machado was a key leader in the protests against Nicolás Maduro in 2014. The Venezuelan Congress asked for an investigation into her for her role in the protests. Machado responded that in a dictatorship, repression increases when the government is weak. After being removed from the National Assembly, she led a march on 1 April 2014. She tried to return to her seat, but the National Guard stopped the demonstrators with tear gas.
In May 2014, a government official accused Machado and other opposition figures of plotting against the government. The government presented alleged emails as proof. However, one of the accused, Pedro Mario Burelli, said the emails were fake. He hired a cybersecurity company, Kivu, to check them. Kivu found no evidence of the alleged emails and said the government's evidence showed signs of being manipulated.
In November 2014, officials announced that Machado would be formally accused. Machado and others said these accusations were false. They believed the government created them to distract from Venezuela's economic problems.
From 2014 to 2021, Machado hosted a radio show called Contigo: Con María Corina Machado. She discussed politics and current events on the program.
Later Political Career
On 1 February 2019, Machado announced her intention to run for president. This was during a time of political crisis in Venezuela. She became a leading opposition candidate for the next presidential election. Machado stated her main goal was to remove Maduro from power and defeat the current system.
In June 2023, the government announced she was not allowed to hold public office for 15 years. This was reportedly due to her leadership in anti-government protests.
2023 Presidential Primary Elections
On 14 August 2022, Machado confirmed she would participate in the 2023 Unitary Platform presidential primaries. She argued against the involvement of the National Electoral Council (CNE) in the election. She believed the CNE was part of a "criminal system" and supported a return to manual voting. Her campaign officially began in March 2023.
During her campaign, Machado criticized the traditional opposition leaders. She also stated she was open to negotiating a way for the current government to leave power peacefully.
On 30 June 2023, she was disqualified from holding office for fifteen years. This decision came after a request from another politician. The government linked her to alleged actions by Juan Guaidó and accused her of supporting international sanctions. Many international organizations and countries, including the United Nations and the European Union, rejected this disqualification. They called the ban "arbitrary and politically fabricated."
On 26 October 2023, Machado won the primary elections. The National Primary Commission declared her the opposition's candidate for president.
However, in January 2024, Venezuela's Supreme Court confirmed her 15-year disqualification. The court stated it was because she was involved in a "corruption plot" linked to Juan Guaidó. Machado then named Corina Yoris as her replacement candidate. Yoris was also unable to register, so Edmundo González Urrutia became the temporary replacement.
2024 Presidential Election
Even though Machado could not be the official candidate, she remained a key leader of the opposition. Much of the support for candidate Edmundo González came from Machado's backing.
The Telegraph newspaper suggested that if the opposition won, Machado would likely be the real leader of the government, even if González was formally in charge. The newspaper also compared the strong support for Machado to the rise of Hugo Chávez in 1998.
On July 4, González and Machado officially started their election campaign. What was planned as a small event turned into a large march with thousands of people.
The New York Times described Machado as an "energetic former legislator." Her main message was the promise to bring Venezuelans home by restoring democracy and improving the economy.
After the government announced election results, a political crisis began. On 1 August, Machado wrote a letter in The Wall Street Journal. She stated she had gone into hiding due to concerns for her safety. In the letter, she presented evidence she said showed the opposition had won the vote. She also stated that the government had removed witnesses from polling places.
Political Views
Machado is strongly against the current government's political ideas, known as chavismo. She has sometimes disagreed with other parts of the Venezuelan opposition. In 2011, she supported "popular capitalism," which means giving more power to individuals and businesses. Machado supports selling off state-owned companies in Venezuela, including the oil company PDVSA.
She has supported international sanctions against Venezuela. She has also called for outside help to remove Maduro's government for humanitarian reasons. In 2023, she ran in the opposition primary elections. After the government prevented her from running in the main election, she became the main supporter for the opposition candidate, Edmundo González.
Her political party is described as centrist liberal. Some media outlets have called Machado a radical or a right-wing politician.
Within Venezuela, Machado believes that politicians should not be allowed to be re-elected many times. She also supports same-sex marriage. In a 2024 interview, Machado spoke about making education available to all Venezuelans. She also discussed reforming the country's justice system.
Awards and Recognition
In May 2005, then-U.S. President George W. Bush welcomed Machado to the Oval Office. They discussed Súmate's work to ensure fair elections in Venezuela. A White House spokesperson said the President was concerned about efforts to harass Súmate's leaders. In 2006, National Review magazine called her "the best of womankind" on a list of "Women the World Should Know."
In 2009, Machado was chosen for the Yale World Fellows Program. She was one of 15 people selected from over 900 applicants. The program aims to build a global network of leaders and improve international understanding.
Awards and Honors
Machado received the 2024 Václav Havel Human Rights Prize from the Council of Europe. She was also awarded the Sakharov Prize on 24 October 2024, along with Edmundo González.
In 2019, Machado received the Prize for Freedom from Liberal International. In 2015, she won the Cádiz Cortes Ibero-American Freedom Prize. This was for her strong defense of freedom and human rights. In 2018, the BBC named her one of the BBC's 100 Most Influential Women.
Nobel Peace Prize Nomination
On 16 August 2024, the Inspira América Foundation and four university rectors nominated Machado for the Nobel Peace Prize. They highlighted her "tireless fight for peace in Venezuela and the world." U.S. legislators also sent a letter supporting her nomination. They praised her "courageous and selfless leadership" and her efforts to bring attention to human rights issues in Venezuela.
Personal Life
Machado is divorced and has three children. Her children live outside Venezuela because Machado says their lives have been threatened.
Images for kids
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María Corina Machado's signature
See also
In Spanish: María Corina Machado para niños
