María Corina Machado has been announced as the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate “for her tireless work promoting democratic rights for the Venezuelan people and her struggle to achieve a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy.”
Describing her as a “brave and committed champion of peace”, the Norwegian Nobel Committee said the prize was awarded to a woman “who keeps the flame of democracy burning amid growing darkness.”
It said, “Democracy is a prerequisite for lasting peace. However, we live in a world where democracy is in retreat, where more and more authoritarian regimes are challenging norms and resorting to violence.”
The committee said Machado has worked for years for the freedom of the Venezuelan people.
The Nobel Committee said, “The Venezuelan regime’s iron grip on power and its repression of the people is not unique in the world. We are seeing similar trends globally: abuses of the rule of law by those in power, silencing independent media, imprisoning critics, and pushing society toward authoritarian rule and militarization. In 2024, there will be more elections than ever before, but free and fair elections are becoming less frequent.”
It says, “Peace Laureate María Corina Machado has shown that the tools of democracy are also the tools of peace. She symbolizes hope for a different future, where citizens’ fundamental rights are protected and their voices are heard.”
The selection committee said Machado met all three criteria outlined in Alfred Nobel’s will for selecting a Peace Prize laureate.
It says, “She has united her country’s opposition. She has never wavered in opposing the militarization of Venezuelan society. She has been steadfast in her support for a peaceful transition to democracy. María Corina Machado has shown that the means of democracy are also the means of peace.”
He symbolizes hope for a different future, where the fundamental rights of citizens will be protected and their voices will be heard. In this future, people will finally be free to live in peace.
Wangari Maathai was Kenya’s first female professor and the first African woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. He started the Green Belt Movement, under which millions of trees were planted.
The Nobel Prizes for Chemistry, Physics, Medicine and Literature have already been awarded this week. The Nobel Prize for Economics will be announced on Monday.
