From hiding to Nobel laureate: María Corina Machado’s continues fight for Venezuela’s democracy

Venezuelan Opposition Leader Machado Emerges from Hiding After Nobel Prize Win

María Corina Machado, long the face of resistance to Venezuela’s ruling party, made her first public appearance in 11 months on Thursday in Norway, where she traveled to celebrate her Nobel Peace Prize. The opposition leader had been in hiding since January after being briefly detained during an anti-government protest in Caracas.

Machado, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize on October 10 for her struggle to achieve democratic transition in Venezuela, addressed reporters after waving to cheering supporters from a hotel balcony in Oslo. She vowed to continue fighting for democracy in her homeland.

“My return will be when we believe the security conditions are right, and it won’t depend on whether or not the regime leaves,” Machado said. “It will be as soon as possible.”

The 58-year-old industrial engineer and daughter of a steel magnate has been a thorn in the side of Venezuela’s socialist government for nearly two decades. Her political journey began in 2004 when Súmate, the nongovernmental organization she co-founded, promoted a referendum to recall then-President Hugo Chávez. The initiative failed, and Machado faced conspiracy charges.

Her profile rose further after a 2005 Oval Office meeting with U.S. President George W. Bush, drawing the ire of Chávez, who considered Bush an adversary. By 2010, Machado had won a seat in Venezuela’s National Assembly with more votes than any previous aspiring lawmaker, cementing her position as a formidable opposition figure.

A memorable moment in Venezuelan political history occurred when Machado boldly interrupted Chávez during a legislative address, condemning his expropriation of businesses as theft. “An eagle does not hunt a fly,” Chávez retorted in an exchange that remains vivid in voters’ memories.

Machado’s political career has been marked by persistent government persecution. In 2014, the ruling party-controlled National Assembly ousted her, and the Comptroller General’s Office barred her from public office for a year, citing alleged omissions in her asset declaration. That same year, the government accused her of involvement in an alleged plot to assassinate President Nicolás Maduro, who succeeded Chávez after his death in 2013.

After maintaining a relatively low profile for nine years, Machado announced a new presidential bid in 2023. Her careful messaging had softened her previous image as an elitist hard-liner, allowing her to connect with a broader electorate. She won the opposition’s presidential primary with more than 90% of the vote, successfully unifying Venezuela’s fractured opposition—an achievement noted by the Nobel Prize committee.

However, ruling party loyalists controlling the country’s judiciary prevented her from appearing on the ballot for the July 2024 presidential election. Undeterred, Machado threw her support behind former diplomat Edmundo González, campaigning vigorously across Venezuela despite mounting obstacles.

“She hiked on overpasses, walked highways, rode motorcycles, sought shelter in supporters’ homes and saw her closest collaborators arrested as she kept campaigning,” explained political analyst María Puerta Riera from Valencia College in Florida. “Her persistence in the face of severe repression galvanized unprecedented support for the opposition.”

According to voting machine records collected by the opposition and validated by international observers, González defeated Maduro by more than a two-to-one margin. Nevertheless, Venezuela’s National Electoral Council, loyal to the ruling party, declared Maduro the winner of the July 28 contest.

The disputed election results triggered nationwide protests, which the government met with a brutal crackdown. Authorities arrested more than 2,000 people, accusing them of plotting to overthrow Maduro and sow chaos. Although most were released in subsequent months, the government simultaneously detained dozens of Machado’s campaign workers.

Some of her closest associates, including her campaign manager, avoided imprisonment by sheltering for over a year at a diplomatic compound in Caracas before fleeing to the United States in May. González himself went into exile in Spain after becoming the subject of an arrest warrant.

Machado’s support has faced challenges in recent months, particularly due to her backing of former U.S. President Donald Trump and U.S. military operations in the Caribbean near Venezuela. These positions have created new divisions within the opposition movement.

Despite these complications, Machado remains steadfast in her commitment to democratic change in Venezuela. During her press conference in Oslo, she emphasized that Venezuelans have “given everything for an orderly and peaceful transition to democracy” and now require concrete action from the international community.

“The one who has declared war on Venezuelans is the Maduro regime,” she said. “In criminal systems, we need the world’s democracies to support our citizens.”