Nobel Peace Prize Winner: María Corina Machado on Defeating Maduro, Socialism & Freeing Venezuela

**David Sacks** (0:00)
María Corina Machado, welcome to the All-In interview, and thank you for being here with me today. And congratulations on winning the Nobel Peace Prize two weeks ago.

**María Corina Machado** (0:11)
Thank you very much, David. It's my pleasure.

**David Sacks** (0:13)
Today, you are in hiding. In October of 2023, you won the presidential primary election in Venezuela. Last March, you were disqualified from running in the general election.
You appointed, ultimately, a surrogate, Edmundo Gonzalez. After the vote for the general election for the presidency, your party presented evidence that claimed that you had won 69.5% of the votes, while Maduro, through the National Electoral Council, declared that he was the winner with 51% of the votes. This is the recap of a very long story of the Maduro regime, and prior to that, the Chavez regime, and its effect on the people of Venezuela. Which you have tried to bring to light on the global stage. I was hoping to frame up the story for our audience, who may not know the history of Venezuela very well, by talking a little bit about the background of the country, and how your childhood and your youth brought you to the stage that you're on today. And just to provide a little bit of background, and forgive me for my lengthy introduction, but I think it's important for folks to understand that the discovery of oil in Venezuela in 1914 began an economic boom that really kicked off in 1922 Today, Venezuela has proven oil reserves of 300 billion barrels. The number one proven oil reserve in the world. Saudi Arabia is number two at 266 billion, and the US is at 48 billion. Over the decades that followed the discovery of oil in Venezuela, there was initially an improvement in the economy through the investment by the Seven Sisters, which are a group of seven oil companies. And ultimately, there was a transition in the country to nationalize oil production. And that led to, I think, the story that brings us here today. So Maria Corina, again, thank you for being here. Maybe you could tell us a little bit about your youth.

**María Corina Machado** (2:06)
Well, first of all, I have to thank you, because this is a unique, decisive moment in Venezuela. We've been under this tyranny that has turned into a real criminal structure for 26 years, that have turned, you know, what used to be one of the freest and richest countries in the Americas into one of the poorest and with a third of our population forced to flee. So imagine what a tragedy. It shows that, you know, you can have huge, unique natural endowments, but that's not wealth. You need talent, you need institutions, and you need freedom in order to turn that into the well-being of your people. I was born in an incredible family. I thank the Lord because we have a huge family, like Latin American family, like to be, you know, together, hanging around all the time. My father was an incredible industrial entrepreneur. He is perhaps the smartest and most generous and honest individuals I've met in my life. And he taught us the responsibility that comes with that, with your family values and the opportunity life gives you. And that's why I only imagine my life in Venezuela and in freedom. And we grew with that sense of responsibility.
And to be honest, I'm part of a generation that, you know, look politics with, you know, rejection or even contempt. I said, I would do anything in my life but politics.
And, you know, we thought that we had inherited democracy forever. We took it for granted. And when Chavez arrived, our lives were, you know, turned over and we realized that we need to exercise citizenship if we wanted to live with freedom. That's how it all started. I never thought I would be sitting here with you, talking about politics or democracy.

**David Sacks** (4:20)
I never thought I would be sitting on a podcast, but life takes us down strange paths. What were the conditions in the country when Chavez came to power? What sort of life were you living? What were you seeing in the country that enabled Chavez to come to power? And what did he promise the people?

**María Corina Machado** (4:40)
Look, we had a period of democracy that brought in Australia huge opportunities, you know, that widespread education and health.
Unfortunately, we stopped short of a real free economy, but the state control, not only of institutions, but as you mentioned, when the old companies were, you know, owned, turned into the government, the state estates, and internal incentives started being created, and more and more people felt excluded from that, you know, wealth that the society, the Venezuelan society was getting, or a country was getting, because it was all in hands of the state. So we've never known, but the state control economy, we've never always known, or never seen anything but that kind of socialist procedures in place. When Chavez arrived, we had gone through a political crisis, and there were growing tensions, and you know, claims of corruption in the political system, the party system, and also the price of oil had declined, it was around $8 a barrel. So, he came with a populist narrative offering, you know, everyone to be equaled and to revenge against all those that were guilty of poverty in the country, and you know, he aligned with actors such as Fidel Castro in Cuba, and other international interests to grab, you know, those huge resources Venezuela has, and of course, in a, you know, super strategic geographic position. So, that's how he got there, and that populist system turned into autocratic, and then into criminal structure.