The image of María Corina Machado’s daughter this week recovering the Nobel Peace Prize in front of the portrait of his mother is the symbol of the suffering of a people who do not live free despite their legitimate will expressed at the polls.
I felt immense joy. This recognition has given hope to millions of Venezuelans. Their struggle to establish democracy in Venezuela continues. The effort and pain felt This project has not fallen on deaf ears and even if it takes time, freedom and democracy will eventually take hold.
A people symbolizes its struggle, its hope and its desires. Surely in a democratic competition we would defend different ideological positions, But in the face of a dictatorship, I always consider the defense of democracy and freedom as mine.
When the regime strives to erase it, deactivate it, persecute it and deny it, it shows enormous weakness.. Authoritarian regimes that rely on fear and terrified, they end up falling face to face with the hope and the illusion of citizen mobilization. The greatest fear of a dictatorship is what it represents, a deep sense of commitment to freedom that fears neither reprisal nor fear.
My joy is not naive, I am aware of the electoral manipulations suffered. How the true demonstration of the Venezuelan people in the elections was prevented from finding out. And I am also aware that democracy alone cannot be achieved through speeches and public demonstrations. María Corina catalyzed the feeling of a people who refuse to accept that the authoritarian system is inevitable and that there is no alternative.
Today we heard the news that another tireless fighter, Narges Mohammadi, who received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2023 was arrested by the Iranian government.
This activist in defense of freedoms and human rights suffers repression from an oppressive regime which he devoted much of his life to fighting.
Awarded and imprisoned for defending human rights, freedom and democracy. Mohammadi, today, continue to fight for human dignity pay a very high personal cost.
Two women with a story of struggle and dedication that reminds us of the courage of those who refuse to accept injustice, oppression and suffering. Women’s faces become symbols of peacewho convey courage in the face of repression despite the risk they run.
Beyond the names, my immense joy is the hope of contemplating the cracks that appear in the totalitarian walls which, even today, are incapable of understanding that “much sooner than later, the great paths will open through which the free man can pass to build a better society”. Today these are the faces of women who They keep alive the struggle for freedom that Allende professed.
Ana Corina reminded us all of this “Venezuela will breathe again.”
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