In awarding the prize, the Norwegian Committee highlights her “extraordinary civil courage” and her role as an opposition leader in the face of an authoritarian regime.
MADRID, Spain.- The Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado has been awarded with the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize for being “a key and unifying figure in a political opposition that was previously deeply divided.” This was announced this Friday by the Norwegian Nobel Committee in Oslo.
“The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided to award the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize to María Corina Machado. She receives this award for 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,” the jury noted in its official statement.
The Committee described Machado as “one of the most extraordinary examples of civil courage in Latin America in recent times,” highlighting that he has led the democratic struggle in Venezuela despite persecution and threats.
The statement also details the severity of the Venezuelan crisis: “Venezuela has gone from being a relatively democratic and prosperous country to a brutal and authoritarian State that today suffers a humanitarian and economic crisis. The majority of Venezuelans live in deep poverty, while a few at the top become rich. The violent machinery of the State is directed against its own citizens. Almost eight million people have left the country.”
Who is María Corina Machado
An industrial engineer by profession, Machado became known in 2002 as the founder of Súmate, a citizen organization to defend the vote. In 2011 she was elected deputy and since then she has been one of the strongest voices against Chavismo.
Throughout his political career he has faced dismissals, judicial processes, threats and smear campaigns. Even so, he established himself as a leadership figure inside and outside the country. In 2023 he won the opposition primary elections, although he was unable to participate in the presidential elections the following year due to his political disqualification.
He currently lives in hiding within Venezuela, but continues to coordinate the opposition’s political strategy, issuing public messages and generating international support. With this recognition, she becomes the first Venezuelan to receive a Nobel Prize.
An award with a global message
The Committee explained that the decision seeks to highlight the importance of recognizing those who defend democracy in authoritarian contexts: “When authoritarians take power, it is crucial to recognize the brave defenders of freedom who stand up and resist. Democracy depends on people who refuse to remain silent, who dare to step forward despite the risks, and who remind us that freedom should never be taken for granted, but must be defended. always with words, with courage and with determination.”
Furthermore, he stressed that “María Corina Machado meets the three criteria established in Alfred Nobel’s will for the selection of the Peace Prize. She has united her country’s opposition, has unhesitatingly resisted the militarization of Venezuelan society and has remained firm in her support for a peaceful transition to democracy.”
By transcending recognition, Edmundo González Urrutiawho was the opposition’s presidential candidate after Machado’s disqualification, he celebrated it on social networks: “Our dear María Corina Machado, awarded the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize! Very well-deserved recognition for the long struggle of a woman and an entire people for our freedom and democracy. The first Nobel Prize winner from Venezuela!”
The delivery ceremony will take place in December in Oslo, Norway. It is not yet clear if Machado will be able to attend in person due to the conditions of persecution he faces in his country.
The Committee closed its statement by emphasizing that María Cristina “embodies the hope of a different future, one in which citizens’ fundamental rights are protected and their voices are heard. In that future, people will finally be able to live in peace.”
