Venezuela's Machado to come out of hiding after missing Nobel ceremony

22 hours ago

Nobel laureate Maria Corina Machado is set to address the world on Thursday, according to the Norwegian government, after the Venezuelan opposition leader was awarded the prestigious Peace Prize in her absence. FRANCE 24's Sharon Gaffney speaks with Phil Gunson, Senior Analyst at International Crisis Group.

Visit our website:
http://www.france24.com

Like us on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/FRANCE24.English

Follow us on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/France24_en

Transcript

00:00This is Apropos.

00:03Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado says she's on her way to Oslo

00:08after failing to appear in person to collect her Nobel Peace Prize.

00:12Her daughter accepted it on her behalf.

00:14After threats were made to her life, the 58-year-old,

00:17who was recognized for challenging President Nicolás Maduro's grip on power,

00:22hasn't been seen in public for months.

00:24She rose to international prominence by uniting much of Venezuela's opposition to Maduro,

00:31as Charlotte Hughes explains.

00:34Greeted like a rock star in the streets of Caracas,

00:37she's the face of opposition to President Nicolás Maduro.

00:41Born in the Venezuelan capital in 1967,

00:45Maria Corina Machado gained a degree in industrial engineering

00:48before entering politics in 2002.

00:50That year, she led a referendum to recall then-president Hugo Chávez from office

00:55over what she described as his authoritarian policies.

00:59Elected to the National Assembly in 2010,

01:02three years later she criticized Nicolás Maduro's narrow victory

01:06in the presidential election, alleging the result was manipulated.

01:11Today, a coup d'etat has taken place in Parliament.

01:15Two years ago, Machado won the Venezuelan opposition's presidential primary.

01:19However, the country's courts, heavily influenced by Maduro,

01:24barred her from running in 2024 elections.

01:27Last year, despite saying she feared for her life,

01:30she came out of hiding to join crowds who were demonstrating

01:33against the contested election results.

01:36Now, the Nobel Committee is awarding her for what it describes

01:39as her struggle to achieve a just and peaceful transition

01:42from dictatorship to democracy.

01:44The Nobel Peace Prize is not only a profound honor for all Venezuelans,

01:52it is a recognition to courage, to the will of our people,

01:57a nation that came together fighting the worst criminal regime.

02:03While she's returned to hiding, Machado addresses her supporters

02:07through social media.

02:09Earlier this year, she claimed victory in Venezuela's parliamentary elections,

02:14although the president's ruling coalition was officially declared the winner.

02:18Having already won the European Union's top human rights prize last year,

02:23Machado is the first Venezuelan to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

02:26Well, to discuss the plight of the Nobel Prize winner,

02:31we're joined by Phil Gunson, the International Crisis Group Senior Analyst

02:35for the Andes region.

02:37Thanks so much for being with us on the programme, Phil.

02:40Remind us first, please, why exactly Machado won the Nobel Peace Prize

02:45and how have people in Venezuela been reacting to that?

02:49She won the prize, essentially, for her achievements last year.

02:56People may remember that in July of last year,

03:00Maduro faced the presidential election once more,

03:04and María Cúñe Machado was banned from standing.

03:08She's been a long-standing critic of participating in elections,

03:13in negotiating with the government,

03:15saying that the government was clearly not going to stand down

03:18by any sort of peaceful means.

03:21But she decided to take part, despite having been banned,

03:24and her campaigning with the substitute candidate

03:27that she eventually allowed to be selected, Edmundo González,

03:31was crucial in achieving a remarkable victory over Maduro,

03:35which, of course, Maduro, unfortunately,

03:37decided to ignore and to remain in power.

03:41And how seriously has she been taking these threats

03:44that have been made against her,

03:46and what risk does she now take

03:47by coming out of hiding and travelling to Norway?

03:51She says she's going to arrive in Oslo before Thursday.

03:56Yes.

03:57Well, in Venezuela,

03:59María Cúñe Machado is accused of everything

04:02from terrorism to treason.

04:05If the government decided to catch her

04:09and put her in jail,

04:10or if they were able to do so,

04:11she could basically be in jail for the rest of her life.

04:14And, of course, this is a country

04:16where political prisoners tend to die in captivity.

04:21There have been a couple of dozen deaths

04:25in demonstrations against Maduro's

04:28snatching of the elections last year.

04:30So it's a dangerous place to be a dissident.

04:33And I'm sure, you know,

04:34the security fears that she's been expressing

04:37are absolutely genuine.

04:39And do you think that in light of all of that,

04:40she's likely to try to return to Venezuela

04:43after, you know, visiting Norway and Oslo this week?

04:49She's always insisted that she would remain in the country

04:52and that if she did leave, she would return.

04:55It's absolutely crucial to her political leadership

04:58to be inside the country.

04:59I think she believes, and I think she's right,

05:02that if she were to remain in exile,

05:04then her leadership would gradually fade away.

05:06She would lose relevance.

05:08Of course, the problem is,

05:09will the government allow her back in

05:11if it becomes aware of the method she's using to return?

05:16Will it put her in jail?

05:17It's a complicated issue for the government as well,

05:19because I think they'd prefer to see her remain outside.

05:23They don't want to put her in jail

05:24because that, of course,

05:25could raise her status even further.

05:28But they don't like having her inside

05:29and remaining a thorn in their side.

05:33And do you think, Phil,

05:34that she's been in some ways a controversial choice

05:36for the Nobel Peace Prize?

05:38The Norwegian Peace Council, for example,

05:40declined to hold its traditional procession

05:43to honour the winner,

05:45saying that she didn't actually align

05:46with its core values.

05:50That's right.

05:51It's...

05:52I think it's the timing more than anything else

05:55that has caused this controversy,

05:56because had the prize been awarded last year

06:00for what she achieved last year,

06:02there may have been much less controversy.

06:04The fact is, of course,

06:05that now Maria Corina is very much associated with

06:07and is backing and supporting

06:09the Trump administration's use of military force

06:13to try and oust Maduro.

06:14So it's a little ironic and a little contradictory

06:17that someone who's winning a peace prize

06:19is at the same time backing a military intervention.

06:22I think that's what lies behind the protests

06:25against her being awarded the prize.

06:27And how does that align then

06:29with the views of someone who's seen as a peacemaker?

06:32And what do people in Venezuela actually think of her,

06:36this kind of support that she has been showing

06:38for this Trump offensive?

06:42Well, it's very difficult these days

06:44to talk about Venezuelan public opinion,

06:46because although there are opinion polls

06:48being carried out,

06:49they're not normally made public.

06:51So the only way to find out what the results are

06:55is to talk directly to the people

06:56who carry out the polls.

06:58What I understand is that support in Venezuela

07:01for Maria Corina remains high,

07:03because she's seen as brave,

07:06as being determined,

07:07and as being sincere.

07:09Her credibility has fallen, of course,

07:11because although she achieved victory

07:14in the election last year,

07:15that victory did not translate into political power.

07:18And if the current attempt to oust Maduro doesn't work,

07:23I think that will also be another blow to her credibility.

07:27At the same time,

07:28most Venezuelans inside Venezuela

07:30don't agree in any case

07:32with the violent overthrow of Maduro.

07:35They want to see the back of him,

07:36most of them,

07:36but not by violence.

07:38And Venezuela tonight demanding

07:40an end to illegal and brutal interventionism,

07:44as it puts it,

07:45by the US.

07:47Is all of this going to have any impact at all

07:49on the president of Venezuela,

07:52this kind of Nobel Peace Prize

07:54highlighting what's actually happening

07:55inside the country

07:57and the plight of opposition leaders

07:59such as Machado?

08:03Well, it certainly adds to the pressure,

08:05and it's not a good day

08:07for the Maduro government.

08:09This is putting a spotlight on Venezuela,

08:12on the human rights abuses,

08:14on the lack of democracy.

08:15But of course, it's one day,

08:17and in the next few days,

08:20the story will no doubt gradually go away.

08:23I don't think it will make much difference

08:25to Maduro's intentions

08:27of holding on to power.

08:29And of course, it remains to be seen

08:31whether the Trump administration

08:32is going to achieve

08:33what appears to be its objective,

08:35to see Maduro replaced by,

08:38you know, a government led by

08:39Maria Corina Machado.

08:41Yeah, because Donald Trump again

08:43claimed this week

08:43that Maduro's days in office

08:45were numbered.

08:46He's refusing, though,

08:48to elaborate

08:48when asked

08:49whether or not U.S. troops

08:51are actually going to be

08:52deployed to Venezuela.

08:53Earlier on this evening as well,

08:55he said that a tanker,

08:56another tanker,

08:57had been seized.

08:58What do you think

08:59is actually going to happen?

09:01This just continues

09:02to escalate,

09:03and it remains unclear

09:04whether the U.S.

09:06is actually going

09:07to move significantly

09:09in terms of deploying troops

09:11to the ground in Venezuela.

09:13What's going to happen,

09:14do you think?

09:16Yes, I don't think

09:17we're going to see U.S. troops

09:19on the ground in Venezuela.

09:20I think we might see

09:22a bombing raid or two.

09:25We might see some rocket attacks.

09:28I don't think Trump,

09:29I think it's very clear,

09:29you know,

09:30that Trump doesn't want

09:31to get involved

09:31in any kind of foreign war.

09:33He's very nervous

09:35about the idea

09:35of intervening directly

09:38in Venezuela.

09:39But so far, of course,

09:40the waving of a big stick

09:42from a distance

09:42hasn't worked.

09:44And he's up against

09:45this problem now

09:46that if the fleet

09:47simply sails away

09:48and leaves Maduro in power,

09:49then the U.S. loses credibility.

09:52So, you know,

09:53it's a difficult

09:54and dangerous time.

09:57We don't really know

09:58exactly what's going to happen.

10:00There's a good deal

10:00of nervousness

10:02and tension

10:02in Venezuela itself.

10:04And it's hard,

10:05as you say,

10:06to gauge public opinion

10:07currently in Venezuela.

10:08But from what you know,

10:10what is that life

10:11actually currently like

10:12for opposition leaders there

10:14and for protesters?

10:17Well, protesters,

10:19we don't see protesters.

10:20I mean,

10:21since the protests

10:23after the July 2024

10:25presidential election

10:27were put down so brutally,

10:282,000-odd people

10:30were arrested,

10:31held in very,

10:32very bad conditions.

10:33There were still around

10:341,000 political prisoners.

10:36And of course,

10:37a couple of dozen people

10:38actually died.

10:39So it's really impossible

10:40now for the opposition

10:41to call for demonstrations.

10:45Dissent is punished

10:47very severely.

10:49Ordinary people

10:50are not having

10:52a great time here.

10:53This is a country

10:53which has been

10:54for the last decade or so

10:56in a humanitarian emergency.

11:00It's a country

11:00in which 80%

11:02of the population

11:02lives in poverty.

11:04It's very difficult

11:04for people to put food

11:05on the table.

11:06So obviously,

11:06that's what they're

11:08primarily focused on.

11:10Phil,

11:10thanks so much

11:11for that analysis

11:11and for being with us

11:12on the programme

11:13this evening.

11:14That's Phil Gunson

11:14the International Crisis Group's

11:16senior analyst

11:17for the Andes region.

Venezuela's Machado to come out of hiding after missing Nobel ceremony

Category

Transcript

Be the first to comment

Recommended