María Corina Machado: The face of Venezuela’s fight for democracy

María Corina Machado, the winner of the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize, has been awarded the coveted prize for her tireless, peaceful struggle to restore democracy in Venezuela and champion the political rights of its people. The Norwegian Nobel Committee lauded her as a “brave and committed” leader who has kept the flame of democracy alive amid deepening authoritarianism.

The Norwegian Nobel Committee awarded the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize to María Corina Machado for “her tireless, peaceful struggle to restore democracy in Venezuela and secure the political rights of its people.”

Building ballots over bullets

For over two decades, Machado has been the uncompromising face of Venezuela’s democratic resistance. As the country slid from an oil-rich democracy into authoritarian rule, she stood firm, organising citizens, exposing election fraud, and demanding political accountability. The Nobel Committee praised her as “a brave and committed voice for democracy in Venezuela for more than twenty years,” underscoring her resilience amid persecution, arrests, and bans from public office.

In the early 2000s, Machado co-founded Súmate, a civil society movement promoting transparent elections and citizen oversight. Her philosophy of “ballots over bullets” captured her conviction that only democratic participation can defeat dictatorship. When the regime barred her from contesting the 2024 presidential election, she united opposition forces behind Edmundo González Urrutia, training thousands of volunteers as election observers.

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A symbol of peaceful defiance

Despite the regime’s threats, Machado chose to remain in Venezuela, often living in hiding, embodying the defiance of millions who refused to surrender hope. Her calm determination, never calling for violence, always insisting on lawful resistance, has made her a moral anchor for Venezuela’s democratic movement.

"Maria Corina Machado meets all three criteria stated in Alfred Nobel’s will for the selection of a Peace Prize laureate. She has brought her country’s opposition together. She has never wavered in resisting the militarisation of Venezuelan society. She has been steadfast in her support for a peaceful transition to democracy," stated the release.

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Democracy as the foundation of peace

In its citation, the Nobel Committee emphasised that “the tools of democracy are the tools of peace,” describing Machado’s work as an example of nonviolent political action aimed at restoring representative governance.

The award situates Venezuela’s democratic movement within a broader global context where peaceful civic engagement is recognized as essential to political stability and conflict prevention.

"Maria Corina Machado has shown that the tools of democracy are also the tools of peace. She embodies the hope of a different future, one where the fundamental rights of citizens are protected, and their voices are heard. In this future, people will finally be free to live in peace," stated the release..