The Norwegian Committee praises Machado’s work in a country that has gone from being “relatively democratic and prosperous” to “brutal and authoritarian.”
The Norwegian Committee recognized Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado with the Nobel Peace Prize this Friday for her “tireless efforts” to promote rights and freedoms in Venezuela and foster a “just and peaceful” transition from “dictatorship to democracy.”
The jury named Machado “a leader of the democratic forces in Venezuela,” while also viewing her as “a figure of unity in a previously divided political opposition.” In this regard, the president of the Committee, Jorgen Watne Frydnes, emphasized that she was unable to run in the 2024 presidential elections due to her ineligibility.
“At a time when democracy is threatened,” Frydnes directly pointed the finger at Nicolás Maduro’s “regime,” accusing it of not respecting the results of the elections, in which Edmundo González Urrutia, now exiled in Spain, ended up as the main opposition candidate.
Machado, for her part, “has been forced to live in hiding” and remains in Venezuela, “a decision that has inspired millions” of people, according to the jury, who used the award to question the drift in Venezuela, which “has gone from being a relatively democratic and prosperous country to a brutal and authoritarian state.”
“The majority of Venezuelans live in poverty while a few at the top enrich themselves. The violent machinery of the state is directed against its own citizens. Nearly eight million people have left the country,” the explanatory statement reads.
In a context like Venezuela’s, where “authoritarians are seizing power,” the Committee believes it is “crucial” to recognize the “courageous defenders of freedom who rise up and resist,” as is the case with Machado. “Democracy depends on people who refuse to be silent, who dare to step forward despite grave risks, and who remind us that freedom can never be taken for granted,” it emphasized.
ALMOST 340 CANDIDATES, INCLUDING TRUMP
The Venezuelan opposition organization succeeds the main Japanese association for atomic bomb victims, known as Nihon Hidankyo, in an edition marked by US President Donald Trump’s pleas for him to be this year’s Nobel laureate.
The Norwegian Institute had registered a total of 338 nominations this year, 244 of them from individuals and 94 from organizations. Machado is the 20th woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize—the previous recipient was Iranian activist Narges Mohammadi in 2023—compared to the 92 men who have been recognized throughout history.
