Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado won the Nobel Peace Prize on October 10 and was praised for keeping “the flame of democracy burning amid growing darkness.”
Born in Caracas to a wealthy family, Machado co-founded the civil organisation Súmate in 2002 to promote transparency.
Her family’s steel business was expropriated in 2010, before she was elected to parliament. She was expelled in 2014 for “treason”.
Machado won her coalition’s presidential primaries in 2023 but was barred from contesting the election. Her ally Edmundo González Urrutia stood instead.
Despite reports, official results declared Nicolás Maduro the victor – triggering protests and violent crackdowns.
Machado is a practising Catholic but supports euthanasia in specific cases and same-sex unions. She holds religious convictions over abortion but does not want them implemented legislatively.
She strongly supports Donald Trump, backing Washington’s sanctions on Venezuela.
Holy See-Venezuelan relations are strained although the Vatican maintains a stance of “positive neutrality”, hoping to play a mediating role between government and opposition.
