‘Politics is not a show’ - Delcy Rodriguez slams Maria Corina Machado's return
Key Takeaways
- Rodriguez questions the motives behind the opposition leader's public reception in Caracas.
- Venezuela's acting president calls for serious political engagement and addresses sanctions and judicial reform.
- Rodriguez congratulates Lula on his presidential run-off victory over Flavio Bolsonaro.
Venezuela's acting president questions the motives behind Machado's widely celebrated homecoming, urging political dialogue instead of public displays.
Venezuela's acting President Delcy Rodriguez has criticised opposition leader Maria Corina Machado's return to the country, questioning the political intentions behind the large public reception she received in Caracas.
Speaking in a televised address on Monday, Rodriguez described the opposition leader's homecoming as a spectacle and called for greater attention to political dialogue and the concerns of Venezuelans.
"Let us step away from the show and focus on making politics something very serious. That is something that she [Maria Corina Machado] and her organisers had. We do not know, but if they did it that way, they will be seeking some objective," she said.
Machado returned to Venezuela on Sunday after nearly ten months abroad, receiving a welcome from thousands of supporters who gathered to celebrate her arrival.
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Rodriguez did not explain how Machado entered the country but questioned the need for such a public reception.
"I truly believe politics as a show must end, because politics is something very serious. Why is politics something very serious? Because it has to do with citizens' lives. The show could have been avoided," Rodriguez asserted.
The acting president also addressed international sanctions and foreign actions against Venezuela, urging those who supported such measures to consider their consequences.
"May those who have harmed Venezuela, who called for sanctions and external aggression, feel some remorse and repentance, and may both the space of dialogue and the Programme for Democratic Coexistence and Peace serve so that all voices can be heard," she added.
Rodriguez further defended her government's position on political rights and justice, calling for an independent and transparent judicial system that protects vulnerable communities.
"There is no political persecution in Venezuela; it is the new Venezuela that I aspire to and the new Venezuela I work for," she maintained, referring to her family's experience of political persecution during her childhood.
Her comments came a day after Machado returned to Venezuela following an extended period outside the country.
The opposition leader left Venezuela in December 2025 and travelled to Norway to receive the Nobel Peace Prize.
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In January 2026, Machado presented her Nobel Peace Prize medal to US President Donald Trump during a meeting at the White House.
During Monday's address, Rodriguez also congratulated Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on his victory over Liberal Party candidate Flavio Bolsonaro in Sunday's presidential run-off.
"Once again, congratulations to president Lula da Silva and the people of Brazil, because Brazil gave a lesson that neither extremisms nor fanaticisms of any kind prevail. It is a healthy society that has sent a message to the world and above all to the peoples of our Latin America and the Caribbean and this region," she affirmed.
This story is written and edited by the Global South World team, you can contact us here.
