[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 4]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 5074]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                   HONORING MS. MARIA CORINA MACHADO

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. MARIO DIAZ-BALART

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 27, 2014

  Mr. DIAZ-BALART. Mr. Speaker, in recognition of Women's History month 
I rise today to honor Maria Corina Machado, an outstanding individual 
and someone who has been an inspiration to the global community, and 
Venezuelans everywhere.
  Ms. Machado was born on October 7th, 1967 in Caracas. She earned a 
B.S. in Industrial Engineering from Universidad Catolica Andres Bello, 
where she graduated first in her class. She obtained her post-graduate 
degree in Finance from the Instituto de Estudios Superiores de 
Administracion. In 2009 she was invited to attend the Yale World 
Fellows public policy and leadership program in Connecticut. She was a 
professor of Human Resources Management at the Industrial Engineering 
Department of her alma mater and in 2005 received the Meritorious 
Achievement Award from the Ballenger Foundation.
  Ms. Machado is currently a member of the National Assembly of 
Venezuela for the state of Miranda. She leads the Independent 
Parliamentary Faction and sits on the Interior Policy Committee. During 
her tenure as a Member of Parliament, she has been a firm critic of the 
Hugo Chavez-Nicolas Maduro regime and is a founding member of the 
opposition political movement, VENTE. She also co-founded SUMATE, 
Venezuela's leading watchdog for electoral transparency and civil 
rights. For her role in guiding SUMATE, she has been accused by the 
Chavez-Maduro government of conspiracy and treason, and was forbidden 
from leaving the country without judicial authorization for several 
years. In addition, Ms. Machado ran as an independent candidate in the 
2012 Presidential Primaries and was subsequently named Chairwoman of 
National Movements for the campaign.
  Most recently, Ms. Machado spoke at the Organization of American 
States detailing a firsthand account of the Venezuelan unrest. For this 
action she lost her seat in the legislature and is no longer immune 
from prosecution for her alleged role fomenting violence in anti-
government protests.
  Outside of her professional career, Ms. Machado was the co-founder of 
Funacion Atenea, a center for the care and rehabilitation of orphaned 
and at-risk youths. It was the first non-profit organization in 
Venezuela to employ a model of public infrastructure and private sector 
management and financing. She also founded and directed Fundacion 
Oporttunitas, a private organization that provides financing, technical 
and operational support to social development programs aimed at 
children in poverty. She has also sat on board of Siderurgica de 
Venezuela S.A., and is currently a member of the Venezuelan Chapter of 
the International Women's Forum.
  Mr. Speaker, I am honored to pay tribute to Ms. Maria Corina Machado 
for her continued service to Venezuela. I ask my colleagues to join me 
in recognizing this remarkable individual, and to continue to monitor 
the ongoing situation in Venezuela, and the tireless efforts of Ms. 
Machado.

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