Today (10 October), the Norwegian Nobel Committee awarded Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado for the Nobel Peace Prize. In the speech, the Norwegian Nobel Committee said that “she won for her struggle to achieve a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy”. Machado was among 338 nominees for the Nobel Peace Prize and has become its 20th female laureate.
Machado is regarded as the leading opposition figure to Nicolás Maduro's government. Even though the regime barred her candidacy during Venezuela’s 2024 election, she backed citizen-led efforts to monitor polling stations, document vote tallies, and expose electoral fraud, even as the government moved to suppress dissent. She is also the founder of Súmate, a volunteer civil association that monitors voting in the country and SoyVenezuela, a coalition advocating for democratic transition.
She is currently facing charges of treason and is no longer allowed to leave the country. Despite the threats of political persecution and living under constant threat, she has decided to remain in Venezuela and inspire people through her insistence on peaceful resistance and free elections.
