Voz media US Voz.us
Apple store Voz-media Play store Voz Media

Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado wins Nobel Peace Prize

The political activist was awarded "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," said committee Chairman Jørgen Watne Frydnes.

(FILE) Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado wins Nobel Peace Prize.

(FILE) Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado wins Nobel Peace Prize.AFP

Diane Hernández
Published by
Diane Hernández

Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, the Norwegian Nobel Committee announced.

Machado was awarded "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," said committee Chairman Jørgen Watne Frydnes.

">

Machado is "one of the most extraordinary examples of civil courage in Latin America in recent years," said the president of the committee.

According to Watne, María Corina Machado, who lives in hiding, has emerged as "a key unifying figure in a political opposition that was once deeply divided" and that now demands "free elections and a representative government."

After the news, Corina Machado shared her thoughts in a post on X:

">

"This recognition of the struggle of all Venezuelans is a boost to conclude our task: to conquer Freedom," she wrote.

María Corina, from engineering to political activism

María Corina Machado is a Venezuelan industrial engineer, politician and activist. She was born on Oct. 7, 1967, in Caracas.

Founder of the organization Súmate, focused on promoting citizen participation and electoral transparency, she was elected deputy to the National Assembly in 2010. Throughout her career, she has faced political persecution, including arbitrary removal from her legislative post in 2014.

In 2023, she won the opposition primary elections with over 90% and was a key figure in the opposition's triumph in the past election of July 28, 2024, which was ultimately snatched away by the regime of Nicolás Maduro.

The Nobel Prize and his election

As is tradition, the choice was made by the Norwegian Nobel Committee, composed of five members appointed by the Norwegian Parliament. This prize is awarded every year as one of the last of the season, with only the Nobel Prize for Economics still to be announced next Monday.

A view of the rostrum where Nobel Committee's chairman

A view of the rostrum where Nobel Committee's chairmanAP / Cordon Press

Machado becomes seventh Hispanic Nobel Peace Prize recipient

With María Corina Machado, there are now seven Hispanic winners of the Nobel Peace Prize. Below is the list of the other laureates (their country and the year they received the award in parentheses):

  • Carlos Saavedra Lamas (Argentina, 1936).
  • Adolfo Pérez Esquivel (Argentina, 1980).
  • Alfonso García Robles (Mexico, 1982).
  • Óscar Arias Sánchez (Costa Rica, 1987).
  • Rigoberta Menchú Tum (Guatemala, 1992).
  • Juan Manuel Santos Calderón (Colombia, 2016).

RECOMMENDATION

tracking