Machado won the prize for her struggle to achieve a democratic transition in the South American nation, winning recognition as a woman who keeps the flame of democracy burning amid a “growing darkness”. The former opposition presidential candidate is a “key, unifying figure” in the once deeply divided opposition to President Nicolas Maduro’s government, said Jorgen Watne Frydnes, chair of the Norwegian Nobel committee.
Machado says she’s humbled and grateful. “This is something that the Venezuelan people deserve,” Machado said in a call with the Norwegian Nobel Institute. “I am just part of a huge movement… I’m humbled, I’m grateful and I’m honoured not only by this recognition, but I’m honoured to be part of what’s going on in Venezuela today,” news agency AP reported.
“I believe that we are very close to achieving, finally, freedom for our country and peace for the region,” she said, adding that “even though we face the most brutal violence, our society has resisted” and insisted on struggling by peaceful means. “I believe that the world will now understand how urgent it is to finally, you know, succeed.”
