Maria Corina

By: Francisco Santos - 16/01/2025

I am an avid reader of biographies and history. As a journalist and member of a family of journalists, from a young age I followed the news and the leaders who, for better or worse, acted to create events that appeared in the newspapers as news. In my life as a journalist, vice president and ambassador, I met many good, average and bad leaders, some of whom left a trace for the better, others for the worse and most of whom left no trace at all.

I only know about many of them from what I have read or seen in documentaries. Isabel la Católica, the most important woman in history, who unified Spain, discovered America and left behind 400 million Spanish speakers. Margaret Thatcher, who took over a country in ruins and returned it to its greatness. Television, newspapers, radio – the analogue world – as well as books, allowed me to learn about their importance. The same thing happened to me with that other great man of the 20th century, Nelson Mandela, who from prison ended apartheid and was always an example of good sense and harmony. Mahatma Gandhi, about whom I read, listened and saw everything I could, because his example as a leader who achieved India's independence from pacifism made him one of the greatest leaders of the 20th century.

Yes, I experienced and felt first-hand the immense charisma of Hugo Chavez, while I saw how he mercilessly destroyed a very rich country and put an end to freedom and democracy. I listened to Fidel Castro talk non-stop about his history and his achievements, which, upon leaving the room, were brought down by the sight of poverty and mass prostitution on the island. I felt Lula's arrogance in every meeting I attended, not to mention his foreign minister at the time, Celso Amorim, and of course, in my country I was very close to almost all the presidents since I can remember.

Leaders who show who and what they are when they exercise their power. The unmatched arrogance of Gustavo Petro that we suffer today. The treacherous stab of Juan Manuel Santos, who kills you without compassion with a smile. The decency of Julio César Turbay, and the genius and political coldness of Alfonso López. Not to mention Álvaro Uribe, of whom I was vice president, an incredible leader who transformed Colombia in eight years of government, and after receiving a failed country, he left it as the jewel in the crown, with great respect for institutions, freedom and democracy. A lesson he left me: he always handed over the successes of his government to others, such as Operation Jaque, and he always assumed the failures as his own, such as the failed rescue operation of the governor of Antioquia and other hostages in which almost everyone died.

I bring up this whole story because in the 21st century, through social media, but also through analogue media, books and newspapers, we are experiencing first-hand a leader who is undoubtedly on a par with the greats of the world. What María Corina Machado has done in Venezuela, what she has led against the mafia-like, misogynistic and barbaric dictatorship of Nicolás Maduro, what she represents as a woman and as a leader, I had never seen and much less experienced so closely.

That image of her on top of a vehicle alone, without an escort, surrounded by thousands of citizens who look at her with hope and excitement, but at the same time pursued by the thugs of Nicolás Maduro's mafia, made me cry. I was watching a historical event that was frozen in an image for history like that of the American soldiers placing the flag in Okinawa or that of the man facing a tank in Tiananmen Square.

It is very difficult for us in this selfish world to experience a moment of such generosity and selflessness as this one. The risk, which later materialized when she was kidnapped, did not matter to her. She only cared and cares about the freedom of Venezuela. She has said so, her fight is for others, not for herself, and that is why she does not hesitate to put her life at risk. “Today the brave people showed how to overcome fear. I have never felt so proud to be Venezuelan,” she said.

This image will undoubtedly be with me throughout my life, as it puts into perspective the difficulties of human beings and each of our problems. This image, which I have already imprinted in my soul, will always give me strength to face the most difficult moments that I will have from now on. Thank you, Maria Corina.

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