María Corina Machado’s daughter receives Nobel Peace Prize and moves to Oslo

Summary
María Corina Machado, leader of the Venezuelan opposition, unable to travel because of Nicolas Maduro’s government, had her daughter receive the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo, where she is expected this Wednesday.

The leader of the Venezuelan opposition, María Corina Machado, did not arrive in time to participate in the presentation of the Nobel Peace Prize, this Wednesday, 10, in Oslo, Norway, and the person who received the prize was her daughter, Ana Corina Sosa Machado. María’s presence was uncertain, as the trip had been banned by Nicolas Maduro’s government.

On the stage of the event, an empty chair was symbolically placed to represent the absence of the Venezuelan. Next to it, a painting with a photo of María Corina was placed. The 58-year-old opponent is safe and sound and has yet to travel to Oslo, according to the Norwegian Nobel Institute.

Ana Corina, the daughter, gave a moving speech after receiving the award from her mother and received a standing ovation from the audience. She confirmed that María would arrive in the city this Wednesday. “In a few hours we will be able to hug her here in Oslo, after 16 months of living in hiding,” he said.

“While waiting for this moment, I think of the other daughters and sons who will not be able to see their mother today. This is what motivates her. She wants to live in a free Venezuela and will never give up on this goal,” she continued.

Then the girl read a speech written by her mother, who she said would soon return to Venezuela to continue her project.

The award ceremony took place at the Oslo City Hall building, in the presence of King Harald, Queen Sonja and four Latin American presidents, namely Javier Milei, of Argentina, Daniel Noboa, of Ecuador, José Raúl Mulino, of Panama and Santiago Peña Palacios, of Paraguay.

Opponent Edmundo González Urrutia, who lives in Spain, María Corina’s mother, Corina Perez de Machado, and Martin Luther King Jr’s granddaughter, Yolanda Renee King, were also present.

Who is Maria Corina

María Corina Machado, 58, was born in Caracas on October 7, 1967. She is an industrial engineer by training and her father was an important businessman in the Venezuelan steel sector. Her upper-class roots have made her the target of criticism from Venezuela’s ruling socialist party.

Machado won a resounding victory in the 2023 opposition primary elections and her rallies drew large crowds, but a ban on public office prevented her from running for president against Nicolás Maduro in the 2024 elections, and so she went into hiding.

Venezuela’s electoral authority and the Supreme Court say Maduro, whose term was marked by a deep economic and social crisis, won the election, although they have never released detailed results.

Machado came out of hiding to make a brief appearance at a protest ahead of Maduro’s inauguration in January. She was briefly imprisoned and then released.

María Corina received the Nobel Peace Prize on October 10 “for her tireless work in favor of the democratic rights of the Venezuelan people and for her fight for a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy” in the country, according to the organization.

(*With information from Reuters and AFP)