2009 Yale World Fellow María Corina Machado wins Nobel Peace Prize

Posted on October 10, 2025

María Corina Machado, the Venezuelan opposition leader and a 2009 Yale World Fellow, has won the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize.

“She is receiving the Nobel Peace Prize for her tireless work promoting democratic rights for the people of Venezuela and for her struggle to achieve a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy,” announced the Norwegian Nobel Committee, which called her “a brave and committed champion of peace.”

“The Yale World Fellows program was designed to build a global network of emerging leaders — and time has shown just how extraordinary that community has become,” said James Levinsohn, Charles W. Goodyear Professor of Global Affairs and Dean of the Yale Jackson School. “We’re proud to count María Corina Machado among the World Fellows and the wider Yale Jackson family. She represents the best of what we aim to do: empowering principled leaders who strengthen societies in many ways — from advancing democracy to improving lives through innovation, dialogue, and service.”

Machado serves as leader of the Vente Venezuela party and was a member of Venezuela’s National Assembly 2011–2014. An outspoken critic of the authoritarian regime of President Nicolás Maduro, Machado was expelled from the National Assembly in 2014 for denouncing human rights violations and became one of the leaders of nationwide protests in Venezuela that year, resulting in accusations of treason, conspiracy, and assassination plotting against Maduro. In 2017, she co-founded the SoyVenezuela platform, an alliance of large sectors of the country committed to maintaining democracy in Venezuela.

Machado announced her candidacy for president in 2022 and participated in unified primaries to choose the opposition candidate. In June 2023, Machado was arbitrarily disqualified from public office for her role in anti-government protests, an action that was denounced by numerous intergovernmental organizations including the UN and the Organization of American States. She won the primary elections in October 2023, but her disqualification was confirmed by Venezuela’s highest court in January 2024 and Edmundo González Urrutia took her place as opposition candidate.

In spite of her disqualification, Machado led massive rallies in Venezuela in opposition of Maduro and became internationally recognized in the fight against authoritarian rule.

In April 2025, Machado was named to Time’s 100 most influential people; previously, she has been named to BBC’s 100 Most Influential Women, won the Prize for Freedom from Liberal International, was awarded the Vaclav Havel Human Rights Prize by the Council of Europe, and received the Freedom Award of the Swedish International Liberal Centre.

“María Corina embodies the spirit of the Yale World Fellows — fearless in her convictions, steadfast in her pursuit of justice, and courageous in her deeds,” said Emma Sky, director of the World Fellows program. “She built a social movement to challenge authoritarianism and demand a transition to democracy. Unwavering in her determination, she has devoted her life, at great personal cost, to the freedom and dignity of her fellow citizens. We are immensely proud to see her courage recognized with the Nobel Peace Prize — an honor that gives hope not only to Venezuelans but to all who struggle for democracy around the world.”

Established in 2002, the Maurice R. Greenberg World Fellows Program brings together a select group of global leaders for a four-month residency at Yale, fostering learning, collaboration, and exchange. More than 400 Fellows from 101 countries have participated in the program, many of whom remain active in its global network. World Fellows include Ma Jun (2004), China’s leading environmentalist; Alexei Navalny (2010), the Russian opposition leader and anti-corruption activist who died in a Siberian prison in 2024; and Asa (2025), Nigerian singer and current Fellow. 

 

2009 World Fellows React to Machado’s Honor

“Maria Corina Machado’s determination and courage have been evident to all who have known her. During her time as a Yale World Fellow, we witnessed firsthand her unrelenting commitment to democracy and human dignity, even in the face of immense personal risk. Her Nobel Prize is not just a recognition of her bravery, but a testament to the spirit of resilience she has inspired in Venezuela and within all of us.”

Azeem Ibrahim, 2009 Yale World Fellow

“Courage, etymologically, comes from cour, the heart. And the heart, we expand and shrink throughout our lives. I believe the Nobel Committee decided to honor and affirm Corina’s — and, through her, a nation’s — heart and courage not to submit to naked power. As someone who spent a fellowship with her in 2009, I bear witness to that heart, as well as the place of Yale in that heart.”

Hakan Altinay, 2009 Yale World Fellow