“You cannot play in multiple boards,” political leader María Corina Machado says

In conversation with El Pitazo, the leader of the party Vente Venezuela stand out that "is the moment of it's time to finish off and do what needs to be" to recover the country. She discards any chance of been part of the government in charge and defends her request for a peace operation.

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The leader of the party Vente Venezuela, María Corina Machado, is frontal. In a Zoom interview with El Pitazo, she maintains that the departure of Nicolás Maduro is only possible by using force, questions those who ask for viable conditions, and affirms that she does not want to be part of the interim government.

For Machado, Venezuela is on the path of a humanitarian catastrophe, human rights are violating, and crimes against humanity are committing. For her, that are enough reasons to request an international operation, considering that the Maduro regime is a threat to the national security of several countries.

The political leader highlight that the Maduro regime crossed a not returning line with the accusations of the United States and the human rights violations noticed in the report of the UN Fact-Finding Mission. So, Machado is convincing that the only option is the international community to accompanied the “peace operation.”

Machado insists on those who support the electoral way are collaborating in the settled of a criminal system. About the consult proposed by the interim president Juan Guaidó, she says that “is an evidence of the ignorance of the political leadership of what the society wants.”

Juan Guaido already requested the responsibility mechanism of protection (R2P), but you said that is not enough. What is the difference between Guaido proposed to the UN and your proposal?

– We agree to call the responsibility mechanism of protection, which is UN doctrine, but with only that, the Venezuelan drama will not resolve. Why? Because what is happening in Venezuela is something that has never been seen before in our region. Some people say that is something never seen in the world because, is the convergence with organized crime with terrorism, with the geopolitical support that involves regime as Russia, Iran, Turkey, and China. Those regimes founded in Venezuela an enclave to expand their process and destabilize the region, undermining the liberal democracies bases of the Western hemisphere.

I am not talking just about Latin America. The same is happening in Europe. There is no rule of law, no national sovereignty in Venezuela, so you the idea of pretending to face and defeat a criminal system with conventional formulas is, clearly, naive. Worse than that is being complicit, because, after 20 years of fighting, the Venezuelans are clear that with electoral farce or weak dialogues, those criminals are not going to leave the power. Not even with a military insurrection, because there have been 16 failed attempts in our Armed Forces, but they got infiltrated. We must call the things by its name: this criminal system only will leave the power when a higher force confronts it. And that is going to have a dissuasive effect.

You talk about a dissuasive effect, but how to make this protection mechanism feasible? Because one thing is that Juan Guaidó, as president in charge, request it, and another thing is that the Security Council approves it, understanding that China and Russia could use their veto right. How do you differentiate this dissuasive effect from an intervention?

– We are not requesting an invasion but an intervention, and that is happening. First, we cannot think that in the UN Security Council, China and Russia would not use its veto right. Thus, we do not believe that by the UN way, it would contribute a coalition to free Venezuela. We have seen how, in other parts of the world, have implement unilateral or regional operations. In the specific case of Venezuela, we believe that must be an operation of the countries in this hemisphere, which are the most affected.

And this is not about is the international community wants or not, it must have to do it, and that was the mandate given to the interim government a year and a half ago. That is why they were recognized and was their job. Now, they cannot say, “Oh! they don’t want to do it.” They have to get it.

Is simple? No, obviously. To the international community, it would be easier if the Venezuelan solve their problems, but it is clear that this is not only a Venezuelan problem.

“My biggest concern is that we don’t have time to lose,” the political leader says. Photo by Descifrado.

So, your bet is an individual intervention? That the United States or the Lima Group decides to activate this mechanism?

– It could be a regional coalition, and we have powerful instruments for that. In the OAS exist the Inter-American Democratic Charter, which has an ethical justification and is the obligation of the member countries have to restore democracy in the other countries of the hemisphere. There is also the TIAR that was already activating. That was an important step.

My biggest concern is that we don’t have time to lose. There are opportunities that we may lose. Have 60 countries and all the forces supporting an interim government that clearly says first, end to the usurpation, then a transitional government and later free elections.

Why has there been such a delayed? That resistance to doing what it must do? The National Assembly took nine months to activate the TIAR. Why are they denied to call article 187, numeral 11? Nobody says that quoting an article is going to solve the problems, but it would be a sign to the international community.

The political leadership must show security, determination. You cannot play on multiple boards, because, in the end, you are not playing in any of them, and that is the big problem.

On the streets, one of the criticisms for the opposition is that you look more busy attacking you each other than attacking Maduro, which is supposed is your common enemy. There is no chance that you unite?

Firstly, I think there is no doubt that the Venezuelan people are united in one big goal: that those criminals go away. Now, the sum of (political) forces has to do with joining together for what and joining with whom. Is not joining for a whenever thing; joining for surrender is not an option. People know who is who. But this is not a problem of lack of unity. It is about being all united by a route that leads to a free Venezuela.

Would you willing to be part of the interim government?

– I want to make it clear. For me, this is not about charges or political fees. Much less, do not want money to do any activity link to the interim government. What I want is to free and recover to Venezuela.

Mistakes have made these 19 months of the interim government, and they must answer to the country about those mistakes, both politically and financially. That is the first thing to do to restore trust.

Are we on time? I think we do, but they must do it. There has no been any explanation about what happened on April 29, 2019, or what occurred with the dialogues in Norway. The country has not been answered either about the whole situation of the PDVSA Bonus, which, I believe, is one of the biggest betrayals.

Now, if there clarity of the goals, if there is a definition by the protection mechanism, supporting the TIAR. If there an only way with no coming back, of course, count on me.

Do you think that political change is possible this year?

– It is not about time. Milestones are missing, facts are missing, and some events extend those periods, some errors extend and further that moment. I think we can bring that moment closer if we do what we have to do.