Venezuelan far-right politician María Corina Machado at an opposition event. File photo.
Caracas (OrinocoTribune.com)—Venezuelan opposition politician María Corina Machado, who insisted on ignoring the democratic route for years, had until recently asserted that she will not appeal to the Supreme Court of Justice (TSJ) for a review of her political disqualification, a legal recourse that she could adopt based on the Barbados Agreement between the Venezuelan government and the opposition’s Unitary Platform. However, on Friday, December 15, the virtual US embassy for Venezuela reported through a social media post that Machado had suddenly changed her position and had gone to the TSJ to request the lifting of her disqualification.
December 15 was the deadline to submit an appeal before the Political Administrative Chamber of the TSJ for review of the disqualifications. At the last minute Machado resorted to the TSJ, a move closely monitored by the US.
We applaud Maria Corina Machado and other candidates for their courage and willingness to appeal their ineligibilities. Now it is up to the representatives of Nicholas Maduro to demonstrate their commitment to competitive and inclusive elections. We call for the immediate…
— Embajada de los EE.UU., Venezuela (@usembassyve) December 15, 2023
“We applaud Maria Corina Machado and other candidates for their courage and willingness to appeal their ineligibilities,” the virtual US Embassy for Venezuela statement announced on Friday at 3:32 p.m. Venezuela time. “Now it is up to the representatives of Nicholas [sic] Maduro to demonstrate their commitment to competitive and inclusive elections… We will continue to evaluate sanctions based on meaningful, tangible progress, under the Barbados agreement, to restore democracy.”
The US message was a typical display of imperial arrogance and extortion that the Venezuelan people have shown does not work.
Yet, until Thursday, Machado had insisted that she was not willing to go to the TSJ to deal with the political disqualifications in Venezuela. In her opinion, she had not been “notified” of her disqualification in a legal manner. “The legal time limits are established by law, not by the regime; and if I have not been notified of any procedure, there can hardly be a time limit,” she said to the press on Thursday.
#14Dic #MariaCorina
Sobre si introducirá un recurso ante la sala político administrativa del TSJ para revertir su inhabilitación política, @MariaCorinaYA “todos sabemos que los lapsos legales los establece la ley, no los establece el régimen”. pic.twitter.com/RmLiVAZxZA— Reporte Ya (@ReporteYa) December 14, 2023
She also claimed at that time that she was confident that she would run against President Nicolás Maduro in the 2024 presidential elections. In her opinion, progress must be made “overcoming all obstacles,” adding that nothing could move her from her chosen path.
Nevertheless, on Friday afternoon, she submitted her appeal to the TSJ, and commented to the press that “the ball is now in the regime’s court; now it is up to them to comply. I am very clear about what my mandate is.”
ÚLTIMA HORA | María Corina Machado confirma que acudió al TSJ para pedir revisión de su inhabilitación.
"La pelota está ahora en la cancha del régimen, ahora es a ellos, a quién le toca cumplir; tengo clarísimo cuál es mi mandato". https://t.co/p2rm7ChTLd pic.twitter.com/IhCbMn66ZW
— AlbertoRodNews (@AlbertoRodNews) December 15, 2023
According to Venezuelan analysts, Machado’s last-minute change of position must have been forced by the United States.
In response to the interventionist US message, the president of the Venezuelan National Assembly, Jorge Rodríguez, wrote on Twitter, “The US Embassy for Venezuela, which is not an embassy accredited in our country, but a propaganda office at the service of the darkest interests against the peace of Venezuela, persists in its colonialist fickleness which, if it were not so tragic and ridiculous, would be comical. Venezuela does not accept orders from anyone.”
La @usembassyve, que no es embajada acreditada en nuestro país, si no una oficina de propaganda al servicio de los más oscuros intereses contra la paz de Venezuela, persiste en sus veleidades colonialistas que si no fueran tan trágicas y ridículas, serían cómicas. Venezuela no… https://t.co/amD22gxxfN
— Jorge Rodríguez (@jorgerpsuv) December 15, 2023
Some opposition politicians, including Freddy Superlano of Guaidó’s party Voluntad Popular, had announced that they would not use the disqualification review mechanism of the Barbados Agreement if María Corina Machado did not do so first. It is still unclear how many opposition politicians may have been affected by Machado’s last-minute decision.
Special for Orinoco Tribune by staff
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