Oslo: The Norwegian Nobel Committee has announced the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize to Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado. The committee described her as “the voice of the people in the struggle for a peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy” saying she “kept the flame of democracy burning amid growing darkness.”
Maria Machado has been fighting for democratic rights in Venezuela for the past two decades. Through her organization Súmate she demanded electoral transparency choosing the ballot over violence. Her statement “It was a choice of ballots over bullets” has become a global symbol of democracy today.
In the early 2000s Venezuela was a flourishing democracy but over the years, it has morphed into a harsh authoritarian regime. Amid reports of electoral fraud arrests of opposition leaders, and restrictions on the media Machado continued to demand free elections and judicial autonomy.
When she became the opposition’s presidential candidate in 2024 the regime blocked her candidacy. But instead of backing down she supported another opposition candidate, Edmundo González Urrutia and trained hundreds of thousands of volunteers as election observers.
She taught them that “transparency of vote counting” is the greatest weapon to protect democracy. When the regime attempted to manipulate the results these same volunteers released the district-wise results revealing the truth to the world.
The Nobel Committee stated that Machado led those “who are not afraid to speak out and who refuse to remain silent in the face of injustice.” She currently lives underground leading a movement among the people without leaving her country. This courage has made her a new voice for peace and democracy in Latin America.
The Nobel Committee stated in its statement that “today when authoritarianism and militarization are on the rise worldwide protecting democracy has become the prerequisite for lasting peace.” The 2024 elections were the largest in the world but very few of them were free and fair. This situation demonstrates that democracy lives not only in constitutions but also in public courage and morality.
Maria Corina Machado was awarded the prize because she embodied Alfred Nobel’s original vision the spirit of fraternity among nations work toward the abolition of standing armies and efforts to organize peace conferences.
Her life story reiterates the truth that “democracy is the means to peace and peace is the soul of democracy.”
The Nobel Committee has selected Machado at a time when the very concept of democracy itself is being reexamined. This honor is not just for the people of Venezuela, but for the citizens of all countries who uphold democracy as a faith despite the atrocities of those in power.
