María Corina Machado speaks to Colombian businessmen

The Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado called This Friday, Colombian businessmen should “defend democracy and institutions every day” so as not to repeat the history their country is experiencing.

«We who grew up in democracy, with all its flaws, always said in the face of (Hugo) Chávez’s threats that Venezuela is not Cuba, but today we are worse than Cuba“said Machado when participating virtually in the Congress of the National Federation of Business Owners (Fenalco), which ended today in Barranquilla.

Also participating in the talk was Gabriela Febres-Cordero, another Venezuelan leader who has lived in Colombia for years and the president of FenalcoJaime Alberto Cabal.

«The defense of freedom and institutions is what needs to be done every day of life and I feel that this is one of the learnings of this generation,” added the former deputy.

Machado also said that Maduro “has never been as weak as he is today.” Venezuela is not just oil. It is more than that and this fight has no turning back,” he said.

On August 22, the Electoral Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice (TSJ) of Venezuela, chaired by Chavista Caryslia Rodríguez, validated the official results of the July 28 elections, which gave victory to President Nicolás Maduro, questioned within and outside the country.

María Corina Machado speaks to Colombian businessmen

The majority opposition – grouped in the Democratic Unitary Platform (PUD) – maintains that its standard bearer, Edmundo González Urrutia, is the winner of the elections.

To date, the CNE has not published the disaggregated results that confirm Maduro’s victory, despite numerous requests from the opposition and a large part of the international community.

María Corina Machado also assured that the role of the businessman is not only to think about money, but to defend institutions and fulfill the role of being a citizen above all else.

The opposition leader thanked Colombia for opening the door to more than “three million compatriots who have had to leave Venezuela”.

«I tell them that I want those Venezuelans back home and part of that fight is to ensure that many Venezuelans can return. “We are living in a historic moment,” he said.

Machado concluded that the future of Colombia and Venezuela is more intertwined than ever and that “there cannot be peace and prosperity in Colombia as long as there is no freedom in Venezuela.”