Maria Corina Machado
Speed read
Maria Corina Machado received the Nobel Peace Prize 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.
Full name: Maria Corina Machado
Born: 1967, Venezuela
Date awarded: 10 October 2025
Champion of democracy
Maria Corina Machado leads the opposition party Vente in Venezuela and was one of the founders of the alliance Soy Venezuela in 2017. The alliance brings together democratic forces in Venezuela across political divides.
Through her political work, Machado has become a leading figure in the fight for democracy as Venezuela grows increasingly authoritarian. She has played a central role in uniting a deeply fragmented political opposition – an opposition that has come together to demand free elections and a representative government. In 2002, she co-founded the organisation Súmate, which works for free and fair elections. In 2010, she was elected to the National Assembly with a record number of votes, but was removed from office by the regime in 2014.
”Maria Corina Machado has shown that the tools of democracy are also the tools of peace. She embodies the hope of a different future, one where the fundamental rights of citizens are protected, and their voices are heard. In this future, people will finally be free to live in Peace.”
Jørgen Watne Frydnes, Nobel Peace Prize announcement, 10 October 2025.
A unified democratic opposition to authoritarian rule
Venezuela has evolved from a relatively democratic and prosperous country to a brutal, authoritarian state that is now suffering a humanitarian and economic crisis. Most Venezuelans live in deep poverty, while those at the top get richer. The violent machinery of the state is directed against the country’s own citizens. Nearly 8 million people have left Venezuela. The opposition has been systematically suppressed by means of electorial rigging, legal prosecution and imprisonment. Venezuela’s authoritarian regime makes political work extremely difficult.
Ahead of the 2024 presidential election, Maria Corina Machado announced her candidacy. Ms Machado was the opposition’s presidential candidate, but the regime blocked her candidacy. She then backed the representative of a different party, Edmundo González Urrutia, in the election.
Mobilisation across political divides
Hundreds of thousands of volunteers mobilised across political divides. They were trained as election observers to ensure a transparent and fair election. Despite the risk of harassment, arrest and torture, citizens across the country held watch over the polling stations. They made sure the final tallies were documented before the regime could destroy ballots and lie about the outcome.
The opposition gained international support after its leaders released vote counts from election districts across the country, revealing that they had won by a clear margin. But the regime refused to accept the election result, and clung to power.
This is precisely what lies at the heart of democracy: our shared willingness to defend the principles of popular rule, even though we disagree.
”People are starting to react. They are realizing that we have been taken to the extreme. This is not an electoral fight, but an existential and spiritual one.”
- Maria Corina Machado, Forbes, 11 March 2024.
| Autocracy Autocracy is a form of government in which power is concentrated in the hands of a single person or a small group, who rule without democratic elections and often without respect for the rule of law or human rights. In an autocracy, the people have little or no influence over political decisions. |
A global reflection of democratic decline
The Venezuelan regime’s rigid hold on power and its repression of the population are not unique in the world. We see the same trends globally: rule of law abused by those in control, free media silenced, critics imprisoned, and societies pushed towards authoritarian rule and militarisation. In 2024, more elections were held than ever before, but fewer and fewer are free and fair.
Democracy is a precondition for lasting peace. As the leader of the democracy movement in Venezuela, Maria Corina Machado is one of the most extraordinary examples of civilian courage in Latin America in recent times.
In the past year, Ms Machado has been forced to live in hiding. Despite serious threats against her life she has remained in the country, a choice that has inspired millions of people.
”Fear has no place in the heart of a people who have chosen to be free. Let fear be afraid of us – because together we are unstoppable, and the time is now.”
- Maria Corina Machado, Forbes, 11 March 2024.
| Human rights Rights that apply to all persons regardless of gender, race, ethnicity, religious affiliation or nationality. The most important are the rights enshrined in the UN Declaration of Human Rights, adopted in 1948. |
Disclaimer: Every effort has been made by the publisher to credit organisations and individuals with regard to the supply of photographs. Please notify the publishers regarding corrections.
Nobel Prizes and laureates
Six prizes were awarded for achievements that have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind. The 14 laureates' work and discoveries range from quantum tunnelling to promoting democratic rights.
See them all presented here.
