Opponent of Maduro regime receives award and praise for keeping ‘flame of democracy burning’
Machado reacted to her Nobel prize in a video - “I can’t believe it! My God!”
“Venezuela has evolved from a relatively democratic and prosperous country to a brutal, authoritarian state that is now suffering a humanitarian and economic crisis,” said the Norwegian Nobel Institute committee.
In choosing a woman who defends democracy over a man who undermines it, the committee reminded the world that peace prizes are earned by integrity and conviction, not bluster and self-promotion.
It shared a video of the moment its director, Kristian Berg Harpviken, woke Machado up with the news. “Oh my God!” she said. “I have no words ... But I hope you understand that ... I am just one person, I certainly don’t deserve this.”
The Nobel committee celebrated Machado’s long struggle for democracy in a statement that called her “one of the most extraordinary examples of civilian courage in Latin America in recent times”. It also paid tribute to the Venezuelan opposition’s “innovative and brave, peaceful and democratic” push for change during last year’s election, when hundreds of thousands of volunteers mobilised to observe the election and collect detailed tallies showing that González had won.
“But the regime refused to accept the election result, and clung to power,” the committee said, painting a dire picture of life in Venezuela, which has gradually sunk into dictatorship since Maduro was democratically elected in 2013 after the death of his mentor, Hugo Chávez.
Meantime, Grapes are sour:
It was a 'grapes are sour' moment for the White House as it slammed the Nobel Committee who chose Venezuela's main opposition leader, Maria Corina Machado, as the rightful winner of the Nobel Peace Prize 2025, a recognition US President Donald Trump has been vying for and has long maintained that he deserved one for "ending eight wars".
The Oval Office said that the Nobel Committee placed politics over peace by awarding the coveted prize to Machado.
Also known as Venezuela's Iron Lady for her work in promoting democratic rights, Ms Machado found her name in Time Magazine's 'The 100 Most Influential People of 2025' list.
"President Trump will continue making peace deals, ending wars, and saving lives. He has the heart of a humanitarian, and there will never be anyone like him who can move mountains with the sheer force of his will," Steven Cheung, White House spokesperson, wrote on X.
Machado, who many Venezuelans know simply as MCM or María Corina, has been involved in politics for more than two decades and was a member of Venezuela’s national assembly from 2011 to 2014. She famously clashed with Chávez over Venezuela’s economic tribulations in 2012, earning the rebuke: “Eagles don’t hunt flies.”
But it was in touring the economically devastated country in the lead-up to the 2024 election that she cemented her reputation as Chavismo’s most effective and influential adversary. Her rallies drew huge, ecstatic crowds, with many supporters declaring an almost religious devotion to the charismatic Catholic politician.
Machado had originally hoped to run for president, but Venezuela’s pro-regime supreme court banned her from doing so, leaving González, a little-known former ambassador, to fill her shoes.
The committee commended Machado as a “brave and committed champion of peace” who had kept “the flame of democracy burning during a growing darkness”. It also celebrated her as “a key, unifying figure in a political opposition that was once deeply divided”. For all her popular support, however, Machado is not universally liked.
Picking a relatively unknown person over the world's most powerful person, who has been unabashedly lobbying for the Peace Nobel, is a discreet message. Machado deserves the Nobel because she has made no big contribution to world peace by "stopping eight wars".
Awarding it to Maria Machado for fighting for democracy is a succinct message. Trump has been anti-democratic, sending national troops into own cities against democratically elected state governments.
The US has seen backsliding of democracy in Trump 2.0 regime with executive aggrandisement and centralisation of power. Not only did Trump send B-2 bombers for warfare against Iran, he has used lawfare at home to harass those who dared to speak against him.
ends
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