Charismatic Catholic Venezuelan politician María Corina Machado wins Nobel Peace Prize

Venezuela’s opposition leader and pro-democracy activist María Coria Machado has been awarded the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize.

Machado, 58, was hailed by the Nobel Committee as “one of the most extraordinary examples of civilian courage in Latin America in recent times” and praised for her “tireless work promoting democratic rights for the people of Venezuela”.

For years she has campaigned against Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro Moros, whose 12-year rule is viewed by many nations as illegitimate.

In particular she toured the economically devastated country by car and motorbike in the lead-up to the 2024 election fronting a campaign that offered an antidote to chavismo, the left-wing populist political ideology associated with ex-president Hogo Chavéz.

Her rallies drew huge, ecstatic crowds, with many supporters declaring an almost religious devotion to the charismatic Catholic politician who promised to reunite millions of Venezuelan families separated by the mass migration triggered by Venezuela’s economic meltdown under Maduro.

Always dressed in white, she often appears at rallies with multiple rosaries around her neck: gifts from adoring supporters.

“I have many rosaries, and I treasure each one and keep it very close to me,” she has stated.

She also has a degree in industrial engineering from Andrés Bello Catholic University.

Announcing the recipient of the prize at the Norwegian Nobel Institute in Oslo on Friday, the committee warned that “democracy is in retreat” across the world.

Machado – who has been forced to live in hiding for much of the past year – was recognised for “her struggle to achieve a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy”, Nobel chairman Jørgen Watne Frydnes said.

She has been a “key, unifying figure in a political opposition that was once deeply divided… in a brutal authoritarian state that is now suffering a humanitarian and economic crisis”, he added.

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

Machado – who has long been one of the most respected voices in Venezuela’s opposition – was barred from running in last year’s presidential elections, in which Maduro won a third six-year term in office.

The elections were widely dismissed on the international stage as neither free nor fair, and sparked protests across the country.

Even after she was barred from the polls, she managed to unite the notoriously divided opposition faction and succeeded in getting millions of Venezuelans behind the little-known candidate which replaced her on the ballot, Edmundo González.

When the government-controlled National Electoral Council declared Maduro the winner – even though tallies from polling stations showed that González had won by a landslide – Machado continued to campaign from hiding as the Maduro government has repeatedly threatened her with arrest.

Machado expressed shock in response to the award, saying it was the “achievement of a whole society”.

“I am just one person. I certainly do not deserve this,” she said in a video message.

González, meanwhile, wrote on social media that the prize was “well-deserved recognition for the long struggle of a woman and of an entire people for our freedom and democracy”.

Frydnes was critical of Venezuela’s leadership during a news conference after the prize was announced, saying the committee saw the same trends emerging around the world.

“[The] rule of law abused by those in control, free media silenced, critics imprisoned and societies pushed towards authoritarian rule and militarisation,” he said.

He added that he hoped Machado would be able to attend the award ceremony in Oslo in December but acknowledged the serious security situation.