Maria Corina Machado to the front line?

It has been a good weekend for Maria Corina Machado, if you call notoriety good in times of crisis and repression. Suddenly she is top billing above Capriles in Maduro's paranoia, and she gets two major interviews, one in El Universal but one also in La Nacion of Argentina. And she got two top journalists for that, Roberto Giusti and Hugo Alconada respectively, this last one having become an expert on Venezuelan and Argentinean corruption since the Antonini case of the 800K bucks in a suitcase.

Of course, MCM has never been too far away from the front pages, miscellaneously having her nose broken in the Venezuelan National Assembly while more serious parliaments go out of their way to receive her with all the respect she deserves. Yet we must be surprised that Maduro went out of his way this weekend to suggest that she is the one chosen by the US to replace him by leading an upcoming transition.

The words of Maduro have, of course, no credibility on that matter. After all, if we were to take his words at face value, if his words were to verify in real life he would have probably been killed long ago in one of the multiple attempts against his life. But unfortunately for him, the fact of the matter is that there has been NO SERIOUS case against his life that could be sustained in court of justice. And each time Maduro goes yet deeper in ridicule.

No, we must search elsewhere the reasons why Maduro suddenly brings her to the front line.

"Ustedes saben que hay un cambio de línea en Washington, porque creen que pueden nombrar presidentes en Venezuela. Ahora han ungido a una dama, y la están preparando. Miembro honorífica de un apellido de 200 años de alcurnia. Ahora ella está ungida del poder y le han dicho prepara tu imagen, debes ser moderada, ahora debes vestirte de rojo y parecer chavista,..."You know that there is a change of line in Washington, because they think that they can name presidents in Venezuela. Now they have anointed a lady, and they are preparing her. Honorific member of a last name that has 200 years of prestige [Mayfloweresque?]. Now she is anointed by power and they told her to preapre her image, you need to be moderate, you need to dress in red and look like a chavista....

Of course, this is absolutely preposterous and quite frankly idiotic, oriented to the lumpen chavismo that Maduro has more and more trouble to stir, emote, motivate. Besides the obvious, to try to divide the opposition by questioning the leadership of Capriles there is something else. In a time of crisis, when people are getting desperate, even among some sections of the armed forces, strong language like the one held all along by MCM may start having some effect. Capriles soft chavista light approach did not work in 2012. His rising his tone a notch worked better in 2013. But Capriles has remained the same since and there is a hunger for sterner sentences which MCM provides. Heck, she evens stirs nationalism by accusing Maduro to give up Venezuelan territory to Guyana, something that cannot fail to be noticed by an uncomfortable military forced by Cubans interests to put Cuban policies above Venezuelan national interests. Yes, they are paid to accept that loss but still...... At any rate, whether her words had an effect, the Venezuelan navy took in custody this week a boat working for Guyana.

The problem for Maduro is very basic: he has neither the education, the formation, the competence, the charisma to be a president of Venezuela and the contrast against some of the most, best articulated politicians in the country is starting to be noticed. Certainly people like myself have been monitoring with keen interest people like Leopoldo Lopez of MCM above Capriles and other. But today it is quite possible that the language of Lopez and MCM is reaching deeper than what many would like......... Maduro is thus, in his increased repressive alienation, forced to deal with more than Capriles and preemptively takes on MCM, the more so as she promises to be a top speaker at the National Assembly debate on the enabling law.

And yet MCM is simply repeating what she has said for years now. She is clear in her mind and her interviews cited at the start really do not bring anything new for those who follow.  The novelty is, for example in the Argentine interview, that she looks down on Brasil, reflecting the general disappointment in Brasil and outside with Dilma Roussef. But what she is more direct than ever is her categorical statement that Maduro's tenure should be numbered in months, because not only of the crisis but because  his incurable illegitimacy does not allow him to tackle the crisis, amen of his personal flaws. And that of course, is nightmare material for Maduro.