71. Congratulations MCM

Maria Corina Machado (58), the Venezuelan opposition politician, has won the Nobel Peace Prize. She is known as Venezuela’s Iron Lady and is called simply MCM. 

The Nobel committee said in a statement that called her “one of the most extraordinary examples of civilian courage in Latin America….a brave and committed champion of peace who had kept the flame of democracy burning during a growing darkness”. 

The committee said: “Venezuela has evolved from a relatively democratic and prosperous country to a brutal, authoritarian state that is now suffering a humanitarian and economic crisis. Most Venezuelans live in deep poverty, even as the few at the top enrich themselves. The violent machinery of the state is directed against the country’s own citizens. Nearly 8 million people have left the country. The opposition has been systematically suppressed by means of election rigging, legal prosecution, and imprisonment.”

Writing on X, Machado said the prize was “an impetus to conclude our task: to conquer freedom”. “We are on the threshold of victory, and today more than ever, we count on President Trump, the people of the United States, the peoples of Latin America, and the democratic nations of the world as our main allies to achieve freedom and democracy.”

Machado had initially hoped to run for president, but Venezuela’s pro-regime supreme court banned her from doing so, leaving González, a little-known former ambassador Edmundo González, to fill her shoes.

Since July 2024, she has been in hiding for most of the time after her political movement was widely believed to have defeated President Nicolas Maduro, who has refused to accept he had lost to Machado’s ally.

Maduro ensured that González was driven into exile, while Machado went into hiding.

Venezuela has sunk into dictatorship since Maduro was democratically elected in 2013.

Maduro remains in power and has retained the support of Venezuela’s military and key international backers such as China and Russia. 

Donald Trump is hell-bent on regime change and has ordered a significant naval buildup off Venezuela’s Caribbean coast.

We must congratulate María Corina Machado for showing incredible courage in fighting for democracy. In 2023-24, she heroically mobilised the Venezuelan population for presidential elections. 

Maduro would undoubtedly be very furious at the Nobel committee’s decision.