Machado was born in Venezuela in 1967. In 1992, Machado founded the Atenea Foundation to help children in Caracas. In 2002, she was one of the founders of the election monitoring group, Sumate.
Machado was an elected member of the Venezuelan National Assembly from 2010 to 2014, when she was expelled by the Nicolás Maduro regime. She announced her candidacy for the 2024 Venezuelan presidential election, but was barred from running and supported the alternative candidacy of Edmundo González. Opposition parties mobilized to systematically document and monitor the election. The results declared González the winner, and the Maduro regime declared victory.
The Norwegian Nobel Committee announced on Friday that it will honor her for “her significant efforts to promote the democratic rights of the Venezuelan people and her struggle to transform Venezuela from dictatorship to democracy.”
Who is Maria Corina Machado?
Born in 1967, Maria Corina Machado has been at the forefront of the fight for democracy amid growing authoritarianism in Venezuela. Now, she is a leader of democracy in the country.
Machado studied engineering and finance and also worked in business for a time. In 1992, she founded the Atencia Foundation, which aims to help disadvantaged children.
Ten years later, she became one of the founders of Sumate, an organization that promotes independent and scientific principles and provides training and election supervision.
In 2010, she set a record by winning the vote for the National Assembly. However, the regime removed her from office in 2014. Machado heads the Venezuelan Republican Party and played a key role in founding the Soy Venezuela coalition in 2017, which brings together prominent Democratic Party figures in the country’s political landscape.
In 2023, she announced her candidacy for president in the 2024 elections. When she was barred from running, she supported the alternative candidate, Edmundo González Urrutia.
The Nobel Peace Prize Committee recognizes Machado primarily for her contributions to promoting democracy in Venezuela, a country the committee believes is in decline.
Recently, she was included in Time magazine’s list of the 100 most influential people of 2025. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio congratulated her on being included in the list, saying, “Venezuela’s Iron Lady, Maria Corina Machado, is the epitome of strength, perseverance, and a nation without flaw. Pursuing difficult dreams, Maria Corina never wavered from her mission of a free, cooperative, and democratic Venezuela.