María Corina Machado said that she is a persecuted leader: “A candidate illegally vetoed”

Venezuela’s opposition leader Maria Corina Machado assured at a conference in the United States that the country has “a real opportunity for change after 25 years of struggle” against Chavismo in the presidential elections scheduled for this year.

This was said by the leader of Vente Venezuela, who participated virtually in a colloquium hosted by the American think tank Atlantic Council to discuss the electoral situation in the South American country and explain how it will position itself regarding it in the coming months.
“The balance of forces has never been so favorable to democratic forces“said Machado, who won the opposition primaries last October with almost 93% of the votes.

But the candidate of the main opposition coalition for this year’s presidential elections in Venezuela is disqualified – ratified in January by the Supreme Court of Justice (TSJ) – which prevents her from holding elected public office until 2036.

“I am an illegally banned candidate. I cannot leave my country, I cannot take a private or commercial flight“, stated María Corina Machado in the middle of the conference with the United States.

The current Venezuelan Government denounced new conspiracies that include plans to assassinate President Nicolás Maduro, for which at least 38 people have been arrested, including three collaborators of Machado.

In the conversation, the majority opposition member – grouped in the Democratic Unitary Platform (PUD) – distanced herself from the conspiracies by arguing that the current Chavista leader is afraid because “everyone is convinced” that he would win the elections.

“We have built a strong unity, all political parties publicly support me and even people from the Chavista base have approached me to find out what a (democratic) transition with me would be like.“, he claimed.

In this sense, the former liberal representative pointed out that the Maduro regime has two options. “Either comply with the agreements and let us compete in free and fair elections or end the (democratic) process with the internal pressure and international isolation that this would entail,” she stated.

“A hand won does not stop,” she said to ensure that she will continue fighting against Chavismo – in power since 1999 -, being convinced that she will win the presidential elections in Venezuela, still without a defined date. “We are growing and we are going to win,” she added.

With this conviction, Machado affirmed that the current Government “It is convenient for him to establish a true negotiation for the democratic transition“, but he regretted that Maduro continues without considering the possibility of losing the elections.