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A match made in opposition: Venezuela's Machado courts Spain's right wing
Madrid, Spain – Venezuela’s opposition leader Maria Corina Machado is aligned with Spain’s main right-wing party on its economic visions, but they are divided by social issues such as abortion, analysts say.On a visit to Spain this weekend, Machado chose to snub an invitation to meet Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and the left-wing coalition government officials.Recommended Stories list of 2 itemslist 1 of 2IMF, World Bank say they are restoring ties with Venezuelalist 2 of 2‘No regrets’: Venezuela’s Machado defends giving Nobel medal to Trumpend of listThe Nobel Peace Prize winner said she had chosen not to meet Sanchez because he was hosting a summit of left-wing leaders from Latin America in Barcelona.“What has transpired in the past few hours at the meeting held in Barcelona with various political leaders from different countries is proof that such a meeting was not advisable,” Machado told a meeting in Madrid on Saturday.Instead, she held a series of meetings with leaders from the opposition conservative People’s Party (PP) and the far-right Vox party.Machado received a rapturous welcome from Alberto Nunez Feijoo, the PP party leader and Venezuelan emigres in Madrid, on Friday.On Saturday, the Venezuelan opposition leader met Isabel Diaz Ayuso, the populist conservative Madrid regional leader, one of Sanchez’s fiercest critics and a possible rival to Feijoo.Ayuso presented Madrid’s gold medal to Machado, while Madrid’s Mayor Jose Luis Martinez-Almeida – also of the PP – handed her the keys to the city before a rally with Venezuelan supporters.Machado also met Santiago Abascal, the leader of Vox, in the Spanish capital.Feijoo praised how Machado had championed freedom even at the cost of going into hiding in Venezuela away from her family.“Spain knows well the value of freedom; it cost us dearly to obtain it. The generations of our parents and grandparents know what it is to live without freedom. That is why we cannot look the other way,” Feijoo said.What divides Venezuela and Spain’s opposition?Despite the cordial welcome, there are significant differences between Machado and Feijoo, commentators said.A liberal conservative, who has said she is an admirer of Margaret Thatcher, Machado has been dubbed Venezuela’s “Iron Lady”.She moved from the right politically to the centre-ground during the 2024 presidential campaign to attract voters in the middle ground.As a conservative, Machado heads a Venezuelan opposition that is split and which also co...
Venezuela's Maria Corina Machado draws a huge Madrid crowd and rebuffs ...
MADRID — Venezuela’s exiled opposition leader María Corina Machado drew several thousand supporters Saturday to a rally in Madrid, where the Nobel laureate declined a meeting with Spain’s progressive Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez on a multicountry European tour.Sánchez, an outspoken critic of President Trump, was hosting a summit of like-minded progressive leaders from around the world Saturday, while Machado extolled Trump’s ouster of Nicolás Maduro in January.Earlier this year, she presented Trump with her Nobel Peace Prize.“What happened in the last few hours at the meeting [Sánchez] held in Barcelona with several leaders and political figures from different countries demonstrates why such a meeting was not advisable,” Machado told reporters Saturday.Machado insisted at an earlier event she will be returning to Venezuela, but declined to say when, or how, and acknowledged the challenges implicit in a return to her country.Her multistop European tour, during which she met with the leaders of France, Italy and the Netherlands, comes while Venezuela’s interim President Delcy Rodríguez has continued in her temporary role, exceeding its initial 90-day limit, while the U.S. government has lifted some sanctions against her. Machado criticized Rodríguez’s government, saying it represented “chaos, violence and terror,” and reiterated her belief in the need for democratic elections in Venezuela. Machado added she did not regret presenting Trump, whose administration has largely sidelined the crusader for democracy, with her Nobel.She said she was in permanent contact with officials in the Trump administration and trusted Washington’s phased process in Venezuela since Maduro’s removal.“There is one leader in the world, one head of state, who has risked the lives of his country’s citizens for the freedom of Venezuela. And that is Donald Trump,” Machado said, referring to the U.S. military operation in January.The opposition leader drew a huge crowd in the Spanish capital’s Puerta del Sol, standing beside Madrid’s conservative regional leader Isabel Díaz Ayuso, who feted her earlier in the day.Some 600,000 Venezuelans live in Spain, home to the largest population anywhere outside the Americas. Many fled political persecution and violence, but also the country’s collapsing economy. A majority live in the capital, Madrid.Ahead of Venezuela’s 2024 presidential elections, Machado crisscrossed the country, rallying millions of voters looking to end 25 years of single-part...
Venezuela's Machado says Spanish PM's leftist summit reason for not ...
Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado said on Saturday she declined a meeting with Spain's prime minister during her visit because he was hosting a summit of progressive leaders in ...
Venezuela's Machado says Spanish PM's leftist summit reason for not ...
MADRID, April 18 (Reuters) - Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado said on Saturday the reason she declined a meeting with Spain's prime minister during her visit to the country ...
