The Committee in charge of designating the Nobel Peace Prize determined that, for “her tireless work in promoting the democratic rights of the Venezuelan people and for her struggle to achieve a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy,” Maria Corina Machado is the person who will receive the award this year.

Jørgen Watne Frydnes, president of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, praised the 58-year-old woman who tried to defeat Chavismo through elections.

“She is a key and unifying figure in a political opposition that was previously deeply divided, an opposition that found common ground in the demand for free elections and a representative government,” he said.

Maria Corina Machado learned that she had been named Nobel Peace Prize winner through a phone call she received during the early hours of this Friday and with a broken voice, she declared that she did not deserve the distinction.

“This is an achievement for all of society, I am just one person, I do not deserve it. It is the greatest recognition for our people. I have no words. I feel honored, overwhelmed, and very grateful on behalf of the people of Venezuela. I think it will take me much longer to believe what I just heard,” she said.

Before the winner of the 2005 Nobel Peace Prize was announced, there had been speculation that President Donald Trump was among the contenders due to his efforts to pacify the Middle East, but Maria Corina Machado's work in Venezuela tipped the scales in her favor.

Last year, the Venezuelan industrial engineer and professor also won the Council of Europe's Vaclav Havel Prize for denouncing human rights abuses in her country and defending democracy.

One of the most famous phrases that allowed her to achieve international notoriety more than a decade ago was “to expropriate is to steal,” which she used to interrupt a speech by Hugo Chavez.

Moved to realize that her peaceful struggle to defend democracy in her country is being supported by the eyes of many international organizations,Maria Corina Machado anticipates that the regime governing Venezuela is about to fail.

“It has been a long road with a high cost for Venezuelan society. For many years, the world did not realize how hard, difficult, painful, and destructive this process had been. And the Venezuelan people persevered. I believe we are very close to finally achieving freedom for our country and peace for the region,” she emphasized.

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