Venezuelans in Chile rally around María Corina Machado

María Corina Machado, the Venezuelan opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, gathered 17,000 Venezuelans residing in Chile this Thursday in Almagro Park in downtown Santiago, according to estimates by the Chilean police. It was the largest public demonstration since Machado left Venezuela last December. “We overflowed Santiago de Chile, my fellow Venezuelans!“, she posted on X.

Later, on the same social media platform, she added: “What a day… In Venezuela, thousands of workers are taking to the streets demanding dignity and freedom; and in Santiago de Chile, thousands more of us are coming together to make our hope of reuniting very soon a reality!” She was alluding to a march by workers demanding better wages from the government of Delcy Rodríguez in Caracas and in other Venezuelan cities.

Machado showed up at the rally wearing a white shirt and black pants, her hair pulled back, and a rosary around her neck. Her outfit was similar to the one she wore at her rallies in Venezuela. “Today, our clear path forward is to ensure that all those who have been forced to leave their country can travel to reunite with their families with their heads held high,” she said.

The opposition leader took advantage of her visit to Chile—where she traveled for José Antonio Kast’s presidential inauguration—to organize a gathering with Venezuelans. The turnout far exceeded the organizers’ expectations, who had anticipated around 4,000 people. The Venezuelan diaspora in this South American country exceeds 660,000, making it one of the five largest Venezuelan communities in Latin America, and President José Antonio Kast has promised to deport those who are in the country illegally.

Machado’s potential return to Venezuela is raising hopes among migrants. Vanessa González, 30, hopes that if the opposition leader manages to set foot in the country again, political change will follow, though she doesn’t believe that will happen right now. For Jorge Medina, 47, “a swift transition” is necessary because he wants to return to his country.

Machado said Thursday at a news conference that her return will take place “in a smooth and orderly manner, in coordination with our allies, and once I have completed the mission I came here to carry out today—which includes, among other things, being able to be with you here [in Chile].”

Later, at the rally, she promised to focus on a plan to ensure that those who were forced to leave Venezuela can return safely. “They have taken so much from us, we have suffered so much, and we have learned so much. We are no longer the same. I know every corner of Venezuela, and we have the best generation of Venezuelans ready to build a new country” and “overthrow the criminal tyranny,” she told the crowd.

The crowd waved flags from Venezuela, the United States, Cuba and Chile. Leonardo Mateos, a 55-year-old Venezuelan, attended the rally to see Machado. He says that a transition is underway in Venezuela, but that it is slow. “Things don’t change overnight. The country was destroyed over 26 years, and rebuilding it takes time. María Corina will return to Venezuela, God willing. Her role will be to unite the country,” he said.

During her trip to Chile, the opposition leader met with various leaders from the region and with King Felipe VI of Spain, whom she thanked for “his words of support for the Venezuelan people’s struggle” and whom she described as “a symbol of unity, not only in Spain but also in Latin America.” At the same time, she criticized the Spanish government for “failing to stand with the Venezuelan people.”

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