María Corina Machado in Conversation for LI’s Reimagined Newsletter – The Liberal Dispatch
While “liberal” often carries specific connotations internationally, Venezuela has a unique political landscape. Could you share what drives your passion for advancing values in Venezuela, and how you define “liberal” within the context of your country’s challenges and aspirations?
Freedom is not always fully appreciated when living a free life. Instead, when facing a tyrannical regime, you can understand how important it is to speak your truth, choose your life, be responsible for your decisions, and own your property. Venezuelans have learned these lessons very well. At this point, for us, freedom is not a matter of theoretical debate, but the necessary precondition, the institutional guarantee that allows us to live as truly human beings. This is a valuable lesson, albeit difficult to learn.
After years of voracious socialism, Venezuelans have understood its dangers. I have no doubt that Venezuelan society is ready to embrace a liberal project. In fact, they have decided to adopt a model that sees freedom as the guiding principle, in order to leave socialism behind. The transition and the new government in Venezuela must succeed in uniting society through mutual respect for each individual’s beliefs, without imposing a single ideology or belief on the entire country, as this is the core foundation of a republic and a liberal democracy. Our project is based on rebuilding a nation with strong republican, ethical, and liberal pillars to bring families back to Venezuela.
We have understood that we must come to power in order to reduce power and give power back to the people. This is only possible through institutional strengthening and a rethinking of the state’s model and its relationship with society, where individual freedom and collective civic responsibility shape a free society.
From your early days in civil society to leading the opposition, Venezuela has undergone dramatic shifts. How have you personally evolved and transformed through these experiences? What lessons have you learned that guide your current approach?
Firstly, the importance of values and strength to fight for them. In this sense, strategic firmness is as important as tactical flexibility. Paths are made by walking, and although we may not know beforehand which route will lead us to the goal, we can be sure that we will reach it if we know how to focus on the objective, adding our values.
Personally, I have played many different roles in politics. I have been a committed citizen, an activist for electoral transparency, a member of the parliament of the Republic, and a protester in the streets of our country. I have joined and left political coalitions. But for me, the direction has always been very clear: to restore a liberal democracy in Venezuela.
Secondly, I want to mention the decisive role of popular organization. Today I feel that my role is that of a weaver: a weaver of social agreements, someone who tries to sew back together a torn country. I ran for the opposition primaries twice (2012 and 2023), and my conclusion after my first participation was that I had to found a liberal organization to fight for a new liberal society. In the decade between those primaries, Vente Venezuela emerged, which is more than a conventional political party; it is a lever for popular action and coordination. And if in 2012 I obtained just over 100,000 votes, in 2023 the citizens massively supported our proposal with almost 2.5 million votes.
And thirdly, I would like to highlight the importance of understanding and trusting people. The role of political representatives is to project the voice of citizens and facilitate the articulation of their various initiatives around a common life project. Only when we manage to listen with humility and attention to truly understand what people long for, do we find a way to work together to achieve it.
In such a complex and often challenging environment, what ignited your initial spark of political involvement? Was there a specific moment, experience, or individual that shaped your decision to become a leader?
I never thought of becoming a politician, although from a young age I balanced my career as an industrial engineer with my work in the Atenea and Opportunitas foundations, both aimed at helping vulnerable children. I only decided to get involved in politics when Venezuela began to face an authoritarian threat.
Between 1992 and 1998, Venezuelans witnessed how Hugo Chávez led a military coup against a democratic administration; how he left prison two years later and ran for president in free and fair elections. He never stopped using an aggressive and deeply divisive political discourse. As Chávez approached power, I felt that all Venezuelan citizens had to react. I grew up in a wonderful home; my family was an extraordinary example, and I learned to deeply love my country. For me, it was inconceivable to sit idly by while Venezuela fell into the abyss.
I remember the first demonstration and protest against the Chávez regime at the beginning of 2000-2001, when he was a very powerful figure with both national and international support and appeared invincible. This protest was led by women. We took to the streets with the slogan: ‘Don’t mess with my children.’ Chávez aimed to ideologize the schools, and it was the teachers who stood up to prevent the destruction of our history and symbols in order to impose Chávez’s socialism. I realized the magnitude of this struggle.
As the Chávez and Maduro regime became increasingly brutal, Venezuelan citizens went through different phases and learned to deal with all kinds of difficulties. Each difficulty has brought various lessons, as I mentioned before. That’s why I decided to act. In these 26 years, many things have happened. One thing led to another, and each step revealed to me the purpose to which I have decided to dedicate my entire life.
Your unwavering resilience inspires not just Venezuelans but people worldwide facing oppressive regimes. What message of hope and strength do you offer to fellow dissenters fighting for freedom and democracy in their own countries?
Defeating a tyranny requires from us the wisdom to speak the truth with the right words; the courage to overcome every threat and master fear; the humility to listen to every person in our country; the perseverance to organize ourselves to resist and move forward.
This is precisely what the Venezuelan people did on October 22nd, 2023, when we overcame all the obstacles imposed by the regime to vote in the opposition primaries. That event opened the doors of change in Venezuela. We opened a breach in the totalitarian fiction to let in the light of truth. After that, we did it again on July 28, 2024, during the presidential election. It was an absolutely unfair and unequal election, where the person chosen by the people in the primaries was unable to participate, and the conditions were the most adverse.
Despite this, we achieved historic participation and victory, and organized the most important electoral transparency and integrity movement ever seen. Nearly a million Venezuelans volunteered to defend the process, and every vote was treated as a personal responsibility. This allowed opposition witnesses to collect 83.5% of the tally sheets and digitalize them within 24 hours, making them available to the entire world at http://resultadosconvzla.com. These are verifiable and authentic data that demonstrate Edmundo González Urrutia’s victory as President-Elect, leaving no room for doubt.
The whole world could see that Venezuelans overwhelmingly rejected the Maduro regime and that its time had expired. The moment to defeat this tyranny is now, when the truth has been revealed and the people have awakened to act united for our freedom through an orderly and peaceful transition to democracy.
I am well aware of the risks this entails. However, the danger of continuing to live in tyranny is much greater. In my case, I can only conceive my life in freedom and in Venezuela. That’s what keeps me moving forward every day. I stay strong because I know we are not alone: millions of Venezuelans are part of this cause, they are determined to move forward, and we know that together we are unstoppable.
Looking to the future, what are your hopes and dreams for Venezuela, and how do you envision yourself contributing to achieving them?
If there is one thing I work for and fight for every day, it is to have a country of opportunities where everyone can achieve their dreams and goals, where families can reunite, where mothers can embrace their children again, and where no one has to flee their home because they cannot survive. That Venezuela of reunion, in freedom, with justice and democracy, with merit and solidarity, is the one I fight for and the one millions of us continue to fight for. A truly wealthy country, with open markets, open to the world, with the rule of law and solid institutions. These have been the pillars that have shaped our project, Venezuela Grace of Land.
The epic, historic and civic achievement we accomplished on July 28 is just a glimpse of what we are capable of achieving together. Venezuela is a country united in its desire for change and it is a country that has already decided to change. There is no turning back. Venezuela voted for its new president on July 28: Edmundo González Urrutia.
We are steadfast, advancing towards our goal of having him assume power as the Venezuelans decided and completing the transition to democracy. To Venezuelans in Venezuela and around the world, and to the international community, I reiterate our determination to be free and our confidence that we will achieve it. This is until the end, and no one is giving up here. We continue together, for freedom.