Venezuelan opposition figure Maria Corina Machado expressed her astonishment upon learning that she had received the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday, In the video shared with AFP by her press team, Machado exclaimed, “I’m in shock!” during a telephone conversation with Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, who succeeded her as a candidate in the previous presidential elections after authorities disqualified her from participating.“We’re shocked with joy,” responded Gonzalez, who has been living in exile for nearly a year. “What is this? I can’t believe it,” responded the 58-year-old Machado, who currently resides in seclusion within Venezuela.Machado won “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 the Nobel committee. Machado, a leading figure in Venezuela’s pro-democracy movement, stands as a symbol of civilian courage across Latin America. For decades, she has resisted Nicolás Maduro’s repressive regime, facing threats, arrests, and political persecution. Despite constant personal risk, she has stayed in Venezuela, inspiring millions through her commitment to peaceful resistance and the fight for free elections.The Nobel Committee described Machado as a unifying force in a once-fractured opposition, whose leadership mobilised volunteers across political divides. During Venezuela’s disputed 2024 election—when she was barred from running—she supported Edmundo González Urrutia and oversaw citizen-led efforts to monitor polling stations, document tallies, and expose electoral fraud, despite government attempts to suppress dissent. In its statement, the Committee said, “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.”
