Who is Maria Corina Machado, the recipient of the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize?

News Topical, Digital Desk : The Norwegian Nobel Committee has awarded the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize to Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado for her tireless efforts to promote democratic rights and her struggle for a peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy.

In making its announcement, the committee said, "The Nobel Peace Prize for 2025 is awarded to a courageous and committed champion of peace, a woman who keeps the flame of democracy burning amid growing darkness." Before the announcement, there had been speculation that US President Donald Trump would win the award.

Pro-democracy movement figure

Machado, a figure in Venezuela's pro-democracy movement, is a powerful symbol of civic courage in Latin America. For decades, she has opposed the repressive regime of Nicolás Maduro, enduring threats, arrests, and political persecution.

Despite constant danger, she remained in Venezuela and inspired millions through her insistence on peaceful resistance and free elections. The Nobel Committee described her as a unifying force in the once-fragmented opposition, whose leadership helped organize volunteers across political divisions.

Played a key role in Venezuela's elections

Machado supported opposition Rep. Edmundo González Urrutia during Venezuela's disputed 2024 election, when the regime blocked his candidacy. She oversaw citizen-led efforts to monitor polling stations, document vote counts, and expose electoral fraud, even as the government sought to suppress dissent.

"Maria Corina Machado has shown that the tools of democracy are also tools of peace. She symbolizes hope for a different future, where citizens' fundamental rights are protected and their voices are heard," the committee said in its statement.

Who is Maria Corina Machado?

María Vente is the National Coordinator of Venezuela, a group she co-founded in 2013. She is also a former member of the National Assembly and helped found Sumate, a civil society group promoting free elections, and SoyVenezuela, a coalition advocating for democratic change.

He was expelled from parliament in 2014 after condemning human rights abuses at the Organization of American States. He faces charges of treason and conspiracy, a travel ban, and political disqualification. Machado holds a degree in industrial engineering from the Universidad Católica Andrés Bello and a finance specialization from IESA.

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