The Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado was awarded this Friday with the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of “her tireless work in promoting the democratic rights of the people of Venezuela and for her fight to achieve a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy,” according to the Norwegian Nobel Committee.
The prize is awarded this year to a “brave and committed defender of peace,” a woman who has kept “the flame of democracy burning in the midst of growing darkness,” adds the announcement published on the Nobel Prize site.
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With a political career spanning more than 20 years, Machado is the founder and national coordinator of the Vente Venezuela political party. Since October 2023, she has been the undisputed leader of the opposition after obtaining an overwhelming majority of votes in the primary elections.
Machado toured the country during the campaign for the presidential elections of July 28, 2024 and was received by thousands of people at their rallies.
The government of President Nicolás Maduro disqualified her from holding public office, so the opposition coalition ended up registering Edmundo González Urrutia as a candidate to face Chavismo in the electoral contest.
Maduro was awarded a much disputed victory which allowed him to access a new 6-year presidential term.
Meanwhile, the opposition led by Machado called for a series of protests and activities in the country to confront the alleged fraud, which resulted in dozens of people being murdered by state security agencies, hundreds of detainees – according to the organization Criminal Forum— and with Machado herself hidden in hiding until today.
Key and unifying figure
“Ms. Machado has been a key and unifying figure in a once deeply divided political opposition, an opposition that found common ground in demanding free elections and representative government,” explained the Norwegian Nobel Committee. in their press release.
According to the committee, the “violent machinery” of the Venezuelan state “is directed against its own citizens” and the opposition “has been systematically suppressed through electoral fraud, legal prosecution and imprisonment.”
In the midst of this reality, Machado “has never wavered in his resistance to the militarization of Venezuelan society. He has remained firm in his support for a peaceful transition to democracy,” the committee said.
“María Corina Machado has shown that the tools of democracy are also the tools of peace. She embodies the hope of a different future, in which citizens’ fundamental rights are protected and their voices are heard. In that future, people will finally be free to live in peace,” she adds.
“I’m just part of a big movement.”
In one interview with the Norwegian Nobel InstituteMachado reacted excitedly to the award. “I am just part of a great movement. I feel honored, grateful and privileged, not only for this recognition but I feel honored to be part of what is happening today in Venezuela,” she stated.
The opposition leader also explained what she hopes to achieve with the Nobel Peace Prize, noting that her work within the country “has been a long road and at a very high cost for Venezuelan society.”
“I believe that we are very close to finally achieving freedom for our country and peace for the region. I believe that although we faced the most brutal violence, our society has insisted and resisted and fought through civic and peaceful means, I believe that the world will now understand how urgent it is to finally succeed because of the implications not only for Venezuela and Latin America, but that this will have an enormous impact on the hemisphere and the world,” he assured.
Who is María Corina Machado?
María Corina Machado Parisca is a 58-year-old political leader from Caracas, graduated in Industrial Engineering from the Andrés Bello Catholic University and a Specialization in Finance from the Institute of Higher Studies in Administration (IESA).
Additionally, he graduated from the Global Leaders in Public Policy Program at Yale University in the United States.
She was elected deputy to the Venezuelan National Assembly in September 2010, with a greater number and margin of votes than any representative in that race.
In 2012 she founded Vente Venezuela, a centrally liberal political organization in which she serves as National Coordinator.
In March 2014, the opposition leader was removed from her position as a representative after being accused of “treason.”
He has received different recognitions and awards internationally for his work in favor of freedom and democracy in Venezuela. He has three children and has affirmed his Catholic faith on numerous occasions, although holds liberal positions on various social issues.
He has said he supports euthanasia in specific cases, the legalization of marijuana for medicinal purposes, the recognition of homosexual unions and prioritizes child welfare when evaluating adoption by same-sex couples. Regarding abortion, he defends a national and rational debate, stating that, although he has his own religious convictions, he would never impose them on society.
Andres Henriquez
I was born in Caracas in 1996. I have been a writer for ACI Prensa and a correspondent for EWTN since 2023. Since then, I have covered events in the Catholic Church in Venezuela, Latin America and the world. I have more than 6 years of experience in bilingual media. Furthermore, in Venezuela I have worked in various areas in favor of freedom and respect for fundamental rights in the country. I have been a member of the Regnum Christi Federation since 2014.