Venezuela’s Machado Clinches Nobel Peace Prize, See Her Journey To The Award 

Venezuela’s Machado Clinches Nobel Peace Prize, See Her Journey To The Award 

The Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to Venezuela’s opposition leader and democracy advocate, Maria Corina Machado, described by the Nobel Committee as a “unifying figure” in an increasingly “brutal” state.

Machado, who has lived in hiding for the past year, was honoured “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 Jorgen Watne Frydnes, the chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee in Oslo.

The committee hailed her as “one of the most extraordinary examples of civilian courage in Latin America in recent times”.

“Despite serious threats against her life, she has remained in the country, a choice that has inspired millions.”

Rumours circulating on social media suggest that Machado is currently taking refuge in the U.S. embassy.

Venezuelan opposition figurehead Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia hailed her win as “a well-deserved recognition of the long struggle of a woman and an entire people for freedom and democracy”.

Briefly about her journey to popularity:

Machado, who was the opposition’s candidate for Venezuela’s 2024 presidential election, was barred from contesting by President Nicolas Maduro’s government. She later endorsed Gonzalez Urrutia, a former diplomat, as her replacement and actively joined him on campaign rallies.

Known for her signature white attire, Machado often drew massive crowds, with supporters eager to see or touch her, lift up their children toward her, or hand her flowers, baseball caps, and handwritten messages of encouragement.

An engineer by training and a native of Caracas, Machado began her political career in 2002 when she founded Sumate (Join Us), an organization that campaigned for a referendum to recall the late socialist leader Hugo Chávez, Maduro’s mentor.

President Donald Trump’s hope for the award:

Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump had openly expressed his desire to win this year’s Peace Prize, claiming he “deserves” the honour for his efforts in resolving various global conflicts — assertions critics have dismissed as exaggerated.

Nobel experts, however, had made it clear that Trump’s “America First” policies contradict the values outlined in Alfred Nobel’s 1895 will, which established the Peace Prize.

“I think this committee has seen every type of campaign, media attention,” he said.

Committee chair Berit Reiss-Andersen Frydnes emphasized that the Nobel Committee does not allow lobbying or political pressure to influence its decisions.

“We base our decision only on the work and the will of Alfred Nobel,” he stressed.

The award includes a gold medal, diploma, and a $1.2 million prize, to be officially presented at a ceremony in Oslo on December 10, marking the anniversary of Alfred Nobel’s death.