Who is Nobel Peace laureate Maria Corina Machado?

OSLO – Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado

won the Nobel Peace Prize

on Oct 10 for promoting democratic rights in her country and her struggle to achieve a transition to democracy, the Norwegian Nobel Committee said.

Following are some facts about the democracy campaigner:

Upper-class background

Ms Maria Corina Machado, 58, was born in Caracas, Venezuela, on Oct 7, 1967. She is an industrial engineer by training, and her father was a prominent businessman in Venezuela’s steel industry. Her upper-class roots have made her a target of criticism from Venezuela’s governing socialist party. 

In hiding

Ms Machado won a resounding victory in the opposition’s primary election in 2023 and her rallies attracted large crowds, but a ban from holding public office prevented her from running for president against Mr Nicolas Maduro in an election in 2024 and she went into hiding.

The country’s electoral authority and top court say Mr Maduro, whose time in office has been marked by a deep economic and social crisis, won the election though they have never published detailed tallies. 

Ms Machado emerged from hiding to make a brief appearance during a protest before Mr Maduro’s inauguration in January. She was

briefly arrested and then freed

. 

Advocate of liberal economic reforms

Ms Machado advocates for liberal economic reforms, including the privatisation of state-owned enterprises such as PDVSA, Venezuela’s oil company. She also supports the creation of welfare programs aimed at aiding the country’s poorest citizens.

Political activism

Her political activism has come at a cost, leaving her isolated as nearly all of her senior advisers have been detained or forced to leave the country. Ms Machado herself has accused Mr Maduro’s administration of operating as a “criminal mafia”.

Collective struggle

Though sometimes criticised for being egotistical – even by her own mother – Ms Machado rarely speaks about herself in public. Instead, she frames her campaign as a collective struggle for redemption and unity, aiming to inspire hope among Venezuelans weary of economic hardship and social decay. REUTERS