Who is Maria Machado, Venezuela’s democrat who won the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize?

Machado was barred from elections and hunted by the government but she backed another candidate, united a divided opposition, and proved that “ballots over bullets” can still shake a dictatorship.

Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado

Credit: Reuters Photo

Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado has been awarded the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize for her relentless fight to restore democracy and uphold human rights in her country, the Norwegian Nobel Committee announced on Monday.

- Machado was recognised for her courage and leadership in uniting Venezuela’s divided opposition and advocating a peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy.

- As the founder of the pro-democracy group Supoliticsmate, she has long campaigned for free and fair elections, insisting on “ballots over bullets.”

- Despite persecution, imprisonment of allies, and threats to her life, she has continued her work inside Venezuela, becoming a symbol of peaceful resistance.

- When her presidential candidacy was blocked in 2024, she backed opposition candidate Edmundo González Urrutia, mobilising citizens to monitor polls despite state intimidation.

- The Nobel Committee said Machado embodies “the tools of democracy as tools of peace,” inspiring hope for a freer Venezuela.