Who is Maria Corina Machado, 2025 Nobel Peace Prize winner
What's the story
Maria Corina Machado, Venezuela's most influential opposition leader and activist, has been awarded the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize. The Norwegian Nobel Committee recognized 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 committee said it was "crucial" to recognize "courageous defenders of freedom" and democracy.
Activism roots
Early career and political milestones
Born on October 7, 1967, Machado is an industrial engineer and heads the Vente Venezuela party. Machado founded the Atenea Foundation in 1992 to help street children in Caracas. She was also a founding member of Sumate, a civil society NGO. In 2004, she led a recall referendum against then-President Hugo Chavez while serving as Sumate's vice-president. Her political career took off when she was elected to Venezuela's National Assembly from 2011-2014 with the highest votes in the 2010-2015 election.
Political challenges
Disqualification from elections and continued fight
In 2012, she ran as a presidential pre-candidate but was defeated by Henrique Capriles. Machado was again a pre-candidate for Vente Venezuela in the primary elections in 2023 but was disqualified for supporting US sanctions on the Maduro government for 15 years. Unable to contest, Edmundo González took her place, and following the election, the United States and the European Parliament recognized him as the rightful leader. However, Maduro declared himself the winner and issued an arrest warrant for González.
Hopeful outlook
Significance of the award and its impact
The lead-up to the 2024 presidential election saw widespread repression, including disqualifications, arrests, and human rights violations. She said that state security agents killed numerous Venezuelans and imprisoned many more. "Most of our team is in hiding, and even after seven diplomatic missions were expelled from Venezuela...I could be captured as I write these words," Machado had said.
Hiding
Machado went into hiding
The crackdown on dissent intensified after the country's National Electoral Council, loaded with Maduro supporters, pronounced him the winner despite credible evidence to the contrary. The Electoral Council's election results provoked nationwide protests, to which the government responded with force, resulting in the deaths of more than 20 individuals. Machado went into hiding and hasn't appeared in public since January.
Award
Prizes received
Machado was briefly imprisoned in January of this year while participating in an anti-government rally, but she was quickly released. These demonstrations were her first public appearance since fleeing into seclusion in August 2024. Her activism earned her a spot on BBC's list of the world's most influential leaders and on TIME Magazine's 100 Most Influential People of 2025. Last year, Machado and González received the Sakharov Prize, the European Union's highest accolade for human rights.