Her recognition comes as a symbol of hope for millions of Venezuelans who continue to fight for political freedom and justice. (Photo: Reuters)
Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado has won the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize for her relentless efforts to restore democracy in Venezuela.
The Nobel Committee praised her for “tireless work promoting democratic rights for the people of Venezuela and for her struggle to achieve a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy.”
Maria Corina is known as a fearless and determined leader in Venezuela’s male-dominated political world. According to the BBC, she is one of the 100 most influential and inspiring leaders globally.
Her recognition comes as a symbol of hope for millions of Venezuelans who continue to fight for political freedom and justice.
Born on October 7, 1967, Maria Corina Machado is an industrial engineer and the leader of the Vente Venezuela party.
She is also the national coordinator of the party, which she co-founded in 2013. Before entering politics, she helped establish Sumate, a civil society NGO that worked to strengthen democratic processes in Venezuela.
Maria Corina began gaining attention when she became vice president of Sumate in 2004. That year, she pushed for a recall referendum against then-President Hugo Chavez.
However, her actions led to investigations for treason and conspiracy, as Sumate received funding from foreign sources.
In 2010, she was elected to the National Assembly with the highest number of votes among all candidates and served from 2011 to 2014.
Maria Corina has always spoken boldly about Venezuela’s political crisis. In 2001, she made a strong statement about the country’s growing tension.
Her words, later quoted in The Washington Post in 2004, were, “Something clicked. I had this unsettling feeling that I could not stay at home and watch the country get polarised and collapse... We had to keep the electoral process but change the course, to give Venezuelans the chance to count ourselves, to dissipate tensions before they built up. It was a choice of ballots over bullets.”
These words captured her belief in peaceful, democratic change rather than violence.
In 2012, Maria Corina ran as a presidential pre-candidate, though she lost to Henrique Capriles in the primaries. She later became one of the leading voices in anti-government protests against President Nicolás Maduro.
In 2023, she again contested in the opposition’s primary election but was disqualified for 15 years by the Comptroller General of Venezuela. The ban extended a previous one linked to her support for US sanctions and former opposition leader Juan Guaidó.
Maria Corina Machado’s Nobel Peace Prize win is seen as a recognition of her courage and dedication to peaceful political change. Her victory has not only inspired her supporters in Venezuela but also strengthened global attention on the country’s struggle for democracy.
