2015: Maria Machado was Disqualified from Holding Public Office for a Year

In 2010, Maria Machado was elected to the National Assembly (NA) for a five-year term (2011-2015). As a legislator, Machado was required by Law to file sworn financial disclosure and asset declaration forms.

In March 2014, Machado was expelled from the National Assembly for accepting a position as an “Ambassador” from Panama without the approval of the National Assembly. The Supreme Court upheld Machado’s removal from office. Machado announced that she would be a candidate in the December 2015 NA election to reclaim the seat. The Democratic Unity Roundtable (MUD) opposition coalition announced that she would be among its candidates in the December election.

The Comptroller General is part of the Citizens Branch, which is one of the five independent Branches of the national government. The Comptroller General monitors the actions of the other four branches watching for violations of the Law to assure the proper administration and use of public funds. Manuel Galindo, a lawyer and former Attorney General, was elected Comptroller General by the National Assembly in December 2014 to serve a seven-year term.

In July 2015, the Comptroller General disqualified Machado from holding public office for one year. The ban was based on claims that she had not disclosed the full extent of her earnings during her tenure as a legislator. Galindo said that she had failed to meet the standards of transparency required by the Sworn Declaration of Assets in not divulging her sources of income other than her congressional salary.[1] NA President Diosdado Cabello explained: “Machado says her income is from the National Assembly, but when her accounts are examined, the amount far exceeds what she spends, which she doesn’t mention in her sworn statement.”[1]

During a press conference, Machado said the government accused her of failing to account for food vouchers while she was a legislator, among her tax returns- Machado claimed she never received them.[2] By Law, Machado had 15 days to directly appeal the Comptroller‘s decision or she could appeal to the Supreme Court within six months. Machado did not appeal her disqualification. Machado and her supporters claimed that the ban was a politically-motivated attempt to sideline her from the election.

An editorial in the New York Times said the decision to ban Machado was “outrageous.” [3] The editorial reported that the U.S. State Department had called the ban politically motivated:

•        “The United States has called on Venezuela’s National Electoral Council and the nation’s comptroller general to allow Ms Machado and other banned candidates to appear on the ballot on December 6. ’These decisions clearly have the intention of complicating the ability of the opposition to run candidates for the legislative elections and limiting the range of candidates that can be presented to the Venezuelan people,’ the State Department said.” [3]

The New York Times published a letter in response from the charge d‘affaires of the Venezuelan embassy:

·       “While it is convenient for those who want to delegitimize Venezuela’s government or electoral process to pretend that people are being excluded for political reasons, this is not the case. Just as the United States has laws governing the eligibility of candidates for elections, so does Venezuela. In the case of Marina Corina Machado, she was unable to run in the coming election because she failed to disclose certain financial assets as required by law.” [4]

After her disqualification, Machado announced that her substitute would be the sociologist, Isabel Pereira. “She will be your voice and my voice in the National Assembly,” announced Machado. [5] However, Jesus “Chuo” Torrealba, MUD Secretary General, said that Machado’s replacement on the ballot would be Freddy Guevara, political coordinator for Voluntad Popular. The opposition won a majority of the seats in the December 2015 NA election and Guevara won his election with the highest vote total of any candidate.

 


1.Koerner, Lucas, Maria Corina Machado Barred from Public Office for Failing to Disclose Income, July 16, 2015.

2. PANAM POST, Venezuelan Dissenter Maria Corina Machado Banned from Public Office, Venezuelanalysis, July 16, 2015.

3. New York Times, Venezuela Tries to Silence Critics, Editorial, August 7, 2015.

4. Arvelaiz, Maximilien, Venezuela’s Electoral Process, New York Times, Letter to Editor, August 23, 2015.

5. Alba Ciudad, The Give and Take of Maria Corina Machado with the MUD, August 6, 2015.

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