Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday. She won “for her 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,” the Norwegian Nobel Committee said in its citation.
The committee chose to focus on Venezuela at this time, in a year dominated by US President Donald Trump’s repeated public statements that he deserves the Nobel Peace Prize. Ahead of the announcement, experts on the award had said Trump would not win it as he is dismantling the international world order that the Nobel committee cherishes.
Machado was one of 338 candidates for the coveted prize, among them 244 individuals and 94 organisations.
The Nobel Peace Prize, worth 11 million Swedish crowns, or about $1.2 million, is due to be presented in Oslo on December 10, the anniversary of the death of Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel, who founded the awards in his 1895 will.
Machado, born in 1967, has played a pivotal role in Venezuela’s pro-democracy movement for over two decades. She founded the Atenea Foundation to assist street children and later co-founded the electoral watchdog Súmate, which advocated for free and fair elections in Venezuela. Elected to the National Assembly in 2010, Machado was expelled by the Venezuelan regime in 2014 but continued her efforts from outside formal political office.
The Nobel Committee highlighted that democracy is facing severe challenges worldwide, describing it as “in retreat internationally.” Machado’s recognition as a Peace laureate underlines the global relevance of Venezuela’s democratic struggle and the crucial role of civic courage and leadership in promoting peaceful political change.
