In 2023, the Maduro governmentbarredMachado from participating in an election for 15 years.
Machado and Gonzalezspent months on the campaign trail, traversing across Venezuela and drawing crowds of thousands.
Dozens have been killed, thousands detained, and an arrest warrant has been issued for Gonzalez.
Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado speaks to supporters while holding up electoral records during a rally in Caracas on Aug. 28, 2024.Juan Barreto/AFP/Getty Images
This interview was translated from Spanish, and edited for length and clarity.
Its been a little more than a month since the election.
Where do things now stand for you and the opposition party?
During these last few years, we were told that it was impossible to get here.
This puts us in a unique position of strength, of legitimacy.
They have imprisoned children, young people, women, the disabled.
We are going to continue advancing until we achieve a transition to democracy in our country.
Where would an attempt to incarcerate Gonalez leave you and the Democratic Unitary Platform?
First you have to understand one thing.
The world knows he is the president-elect.
This is an arrest warrant against the president-elect.
And what were also seeing is that the support we are getting goes across the entire ideological spectrum.
Lets stick to the U.S. for a moment.
How do you view their role in this?
What would you like to see the United States do now?
Especially given that we have our own election soon.
Well, first of all, Venezuelas economic and social problems began long before [Trump.]
Its important to say that.
Second, It is important to say, I believe, that the two approaches are complementary.
You have to put pressure so that there can be negotiation.
And I think that is what we have learned from these years.
The whole world knows that Maduro was defeated.
His own followers in his party know it, the Armed Forces know it, everyone knows it.
More than 200 women who were taken to prisonand some have reported sexual abuse and cruel treatment.
So, he feels like he can do that with zero cost.
What must be demonstrated is that this is not true, that repression has consequences.
Given the way things stand now, do you still see a viable path to a transition?
What would need to happen in order for your movement to be successful at this point?
The answer is absolutely yes.
Venezuela is experiencing very powerful social forces, from below, from within.
On the one hand, there is general indignation at the fact that Maduro intends to ignore popular sovereignty.
And the people know, his own people know, that Edmundo Gonzalez won.
Venezuela is in the last world of global rule of law.
There is no trust here, no one is going to invest.
The economy is falling, as is the consumption of goods in the popular sector.
So you mix these three forces, and what can happen?
So, I mean, this has to stop now.
This is the moment.
They tell their followers, No, the world is going to get tired and turn the page.
Thats not going to happen.
It is for the entire hemisphere.
What happens in Venezuela is going to affect the entire hemisphere.
Speaking of this hemisphere, several countrieshave suggestedan internationally monitored election.
Are you open to that or are you determined to see the results of Julys election enforced?
Its a negotiation that has to start from the recognition of July 28.
I mean, I want this to be clear.
Because I didnt like the results.
Would they accept that in Mexico, in Colombia, in Brazil or in the United States?
We were in an election with the rules of tyranny.
They werent clean elections.
I won the [primary] and they didnt let me participate.
Four and a half million Venezuelans, who are registered and live abroad, werenot allowed to vote.
Three million of us who turned 18 years old were notallowed to registerhere.
And we still won with 67 percent of the vote.
So, this is not a polarized country, this is not a divided country.
Venezuela is more united than ever and has already made its decision.
And all negotiations must start by recognizing the popular sovereignty expressed in the vote.
From there, we are determined to negotiate but with recognition of that point.
So heres a very American Election question.
Hes sworn in as president.
What would the first 100 days of that administration look like?
What are your priorities?
The priority is absolutely the people, our people.
Trust among ourselves as citizens.
And that starts with speaking the truth.
This brought us together.
Thats what this new government is going to be a new government where the center is the people.
We have to make up ground.
I want to turn Venezuela into a trilingual country.
We are going to make Venezuela fly.
We are going to turn Venezuela into the energy hub of the Americas.
We have the capacity to become a renewable energy powerhouse.
Venezuela has theninth-largest freshwaterresources on the planet.
That can be done here.
But that means we need a system of freedoms.
We need your voices, hard and clear, alongside ours.
Because this is the moment to secure change.
You have received many threats, so have your staff and your allies.
So one thing is repression.
Every day there were threats, and more and more people were taken away.
Journalists were taken prisoner, media outlets were closed.
They tried to besiege me, and what did they want?
For me to leave the country.
Im not going to leave, and every day they threaten me with something else.
Now Im a terrorist accused of terrorism.
Whats more, my colleagues are beingtried in court for terrorism.
And Edmundo Gonzalez has an arrest warrant for him froman anti-terrorism court.
They have no limit.
Your colleague mentioned ahead of our interview that a member of your team was kidnapped last week?
Theyve kidnapped a lot of people.
There is a young woman, 30 years old, our coordinator in Portuguese,Maria Oropeza.
They went to look for her at her house.
This was a month ago and her mother hasnt seen her.
Last night I spoke with Flor, her mother.
This is happening as we speak.
What do they want?
They want Edmundo and I to leave Venezuela and throw in the towel.
We will prevail, we have a mandate, they want to terrorize people, for Gods sake.
This is a regime of terror, but they are not going to break us.
What would you like Americans to understand about the situation in Venezuela?
Its a hard lesson.
You have to take care of your institutions.
We took freedom and democracy for granted until we lost it.
This is the time to move forward, this is the opportunity.
