Maria Corina Machado Optimistic About Presidential Future

Maria Corina Machado has expressed confidence that she will eventually become the president of Venezuela.

During her appearance on CBS’s “Face the Nation” on Sunday, Machado reflected on Venezuela’s electoral prospects following the recent capture of Nicolás Maduro.

The last presidential election in Venezuela was held on July 28, 2024. Machado, the leading candidate from the opposition, was barred from participating by the country’s highest courts. Consequently, she endorsed Edmundo González Urrutia as her successor.

Controversy erupted immediately after Maduro’s victory, which was announced with about 51.2% of the votes. Concerns about the election’s transparency and fairness were widespread. Machado went into hiding to evade arrest, while González fled to Spain, where he received political asylum.

For now, Machado emphasizes that her future role in leading Venezuela should be determined through a fair election featuring input from the Venezuelan populace.

“I will be president when the time comes. But it doesn’t matter. That should be decided in elections by the Venezuelan people,” she remarked.

“I wasn’t allowed to run in the last election, as we mentioned before, because Maduro was afraid to run against me. He thought Edmundo was not a threat because nobody knew who he was, and in less than three months, we managed to garner support for him across the country. This is a matter of freedom,” she added. “This is a spiritual fight, an existential fight for Venezuela.”