I have huge admiration for what Yale as an institution represents. I hope I will be able to give back and promote the values and the knowledge that I have learned here in my country, while I tirelessly fighting for its freedom alongside my fellow citizens.
2009
Maria Corina Machado
National Coordinator
Vente Venezuela
MarĂa Corina Machado is National Coordinator of Vente Venezuela, the party of freedom and a liberal political organization born in 2013 and of which she is a founding member. She was the Member of the National Assembly of Venezuela elected with the highest number of votes of all the candidates for that electoral contest (2010-2015) and is one of the main opposition leaders in the country. Since 2017, she is a founding member, along with Antonio Ledezma and Diego Arria, and accompanied by an extensive National Council, of the SoyVenezuela platform, an alliance of large sectors of the country, with international projection, committed to the rescue of the Republic and democracy in Venezuela.
As a Member of Parliament, she stood out as one of the strongest and most critical voices when denouncing the institutional abuses of the regime, as well as the repression, the serious economic problems and, more recently, the humanitarian crisis that Venezuela is going through. In March 2014, Maria Corina spoke in the Permanent Council of the Organization of American States, after the Republic of Panama gave her its right to speak to denounce the violations of the Maduro regime to human rights in Venezuela. For this reason, she was arbitrarily expelled from her position as elected Member of Parliament, by the President of the National Assembly, Diosdado Cabello; in violation of due process and international law.
Today, Marina Corina faces unfounded accusations of treason, terrorism, conspiracy and assassination, as well as repeated threats of imprisonment and a ban on leaving the country since April 2014. In recent days, the threats against her have increased, linking her as political leader of an alleged military conspiracy to assassinate Nicolás Maduro. In July 2015, in total violation of the Constitution, she was politically disabled to prohibit her from running again as Member of the National Assembly.
in 2006 she was acclaimed by the National Review on a list called "Women the World Should Know"; in October 2014, she was awarded the “2014 Charles T. Manatt” prize, of the International Foundation for Electoral Systems; in June 2015 the Cádiz City Council awarded her the “Libertad Cortes de Cádiz” prize, together with Antonio Ledezma and Leopoldo López, and she was recently recognized by the IESA as one of its 50 most influential fellows. In 2018, she received the Freedom Award of the Swedish International Liberal Centre (SILC) and the BBC recognized her as one of the 100 most influential women in the world. In addition, the Liberal International awarded her its Freedom Prize 2019 for her struggle for freedom, liberalism and human rights.
She earned her degree in industrial engineering from the Universidad Católica Andrés Bello, with a specialization in Finance from the Instituto de Estudios Superiores de la Administración.
