The World Fellows

Maria Machado | Venezuela | 2009

Presidential Candidate; MP, National Assembly of Venezuela

Machado is an independent presidential candidate running in the opposition primaries to be held in February 2012. She currently represents the state of Miranda in the National Assembly of Venezuela. She leads the Independent Parliamentary Faction and sits on the Interior Policy Committee. Previously, she co-founded and was chairman of SUMATE, Venezuela’s leading watchdog for electoral transparency and promoter of civil liberties and political rights. Under Machado´s guidance, SUMATE´s network of volunteers grew to include more than 30,000 members from all over Venezuela. In 2004, using the right granted by the new Bolivarian Constitution to call for popular referendums, SUMATE successfully organized national petition-signing drives that reached more than a quarter of all registered voters in the country.

 

Media

World Fellows celebrate 10 years, Yale Daily News, October 10, 2011

TEDx Talk (video): Democracy: Use it or Lose it, TEDxYaleWorldFellows, April 2011

Building Democracy from Below in Venezuela, Yale Journal of International Affairs, April 2011

Hugo Chávez and the Venezuelan Election, The Weekly Standard, October 14, 2010

Maria Corina a nova face do antichavismo, Jornal Valor Economico, September 28, 2010

Deputada é a nova cara da oposição na Venezuela, Jornal Valor Economico, September 28, 2010

Venezuela’s opposition claims majority, Financial Times, September 28, 2010

Netcast (audio): Venezuela's Watch Dog. Click here for Netcast >>