The daughter of Enrique Machado Zuloaga and Corina Parísca Pérez; Industrial Engineer from Andrés Bello Catholic University and with a specialization in Financial Management from IESA. She and her mother signed the Oath Agreement of Pedro Carmona Estanga before he self-appointed president of Venezuela as the result of the coup on April 11th.

Due to her extensive connections in the political area as well as the private sector, María Corina’s mother was appointed to gather up the Electoral Supreme Council (CSE) in 1998 along with Pedor Carmona Estanga and Alberto Federico Ravell, signing the agreement at the Hilton Hotel which she would soon resign due to critics on political parties.

Machado is completely conscious that getting in “the boiling waters of politics” imposes the decision-making practice all the time and paying the costs of what results from them has a person like her, question the meaning of power and its irresistible attractiveness; moreover in a context like the Venezuelan one where few opposing the government institutions remain.

So far, María Corina Machado has let the public know that no one in “Sumate” is interested in proposing candidates and that the only type of power they want to speak about is the “power that citizens have to defend their rights.” On the other hand, there is no intention of announcing the creation of a political party at “Sumate” and that in response to the evident signs of the government’s promotion of violation of the democracy rights and of the spaces for dissidence, the organization decided to take the challenge in order to defend democracy rights. Their beliefs are also expressed in the National Constitution; a document they fully believe in.

Refernces:
Ascanio, O.  2005 La Voz,  from the webpage: www.diariolavoz.net  (updated in June 30, 2005)

“Sumate” is a civil organization founded by a group of Venezuelan citizens in 2002. It is a non-lucrative organization that is focused on fomenting individual freedom, freedom of speech in an absolute practice of the constitutional duties in Venezuela. This association accounts for around 30,000 volunteers at present.
To accomplish their goals, the Civil Association, “Sumate”, promotes the exercise of civil political rights, debate and discussion of ideas and of public interest issues as well as the consult processes and collective decision making matters.