“Fraudulent elections. That’s not going to happen.” That was Maria Corina Machado’s answer on social media after Venezuela’s Supreme Court ruled on Friday, January 26, 2024, that she may not run for president.
The court, which Le Monde described as loyal to President Nicolas Maduro’s government, upheld a 15-year ban on Machado, 56, holding public office. It gave a reason: she was involved, in its words, in “the corruption plot orchestrated by the usurper Juan Guaido.” Guaido had claimed the interim presidency in 2019, was recognized by some foreign governments, and was forced into exile in 2023.
A primary she won easily
Machado is a former lawmaker and an industrial engineer. She won the opposition primary with more than 90% of the vote. The primary was organised independently of the electoral authorities, which is how she could run in it despite the ban. She also insisted throughout the campaign that nobody had officially notified her of the ban. In December she took the case to the Supreme Tribunal of Justice, arguing the ban was null and void and asking for an injunction to protect her political rights. The court’s Friday decision answers that effort with a flat no.
It also closed another door. The ruling confirmed the ineligibility of Henrique Capriles, a two-time presidential candidate seen as a possible stand-in for the opposition. “Today, more than ever, let nothing and no one remove us from the electoral route,” Capriles wrote on X. “2024 has to be the year of the Venezuelan people.”
Washington reacts
The timing matters because of a deal struck last year. Maduro’s government and the opposition agreed in talks in Barbados to hold a free and fair vote in 2024 with international observers. In return the United States eased oil sanctions, which let Chevron resume limited extraction, and the arrangement also led to a prisoner swap. No election date has been set. Maduro has not confirmed he will seek a third term, though he is widely expected to.
The State Department called the ruling a “deeply concerning decision” that ran contrary to the Venezuelan government’s earlier commitments. Spokesman Matthew Miller said Washington was reviewing its sanctions policy “based on this development and the recent political targeting of democratic opposition candidates and civil society.”
The day before the ruling, Maduro had said the Barbados agreement was “mortally wounded”, after authorities claimed to have foiled numerous plots to assassinate him.
Sources
- Venezuela's Supreme Court disqualifies opposition leader from running for president (Le Monde with AFP)
- Venezuela's top court upholds ban on opposition candidate (DW)
