The Nobel Peace Prize for Corina Machado privately brings joy to millions of Venezuelans who no longer fill the streets out of fear

Citizens do not dare to express opinions against Chavismo in the midst of political persecution that holds 841 political prisoners, including 173 soldiers and four teenagers. The promise of Diosdado HairMinister of Interior Relations, Justice and Peace, of a “Christmas Tun Tun”, reusing the name of a repressive operation after the presidential elections, has set the tone.

However, opponents cannot hide their enthusiasm in conversation with EL ESPAÑOL. “I heard the man from the Nobel Prize who called her and made me cry with emotion,” exclaims a man from Valencia, in Carabobo, who declares on condition of anonymity.

“She is a woman who has been fighting for peace in Venezuela for more than 20 years, and this is a boost for Venezuela because they reward the person that the Chavistas pointed out as a bandit who wants war, and also for what she does. Donald Trump“, he says, recalling the military operations of the US fleet in the Caribbean, which he describes as “an anti-drug raid, not a liberation mission.”

In his opinion, “the international community has to change with this step, and I believe that it cannot free us because it does not have the weapons to confront them.” “Remember that this is not a legally constituted Government.”

Machado, who remains in hiding under threats from the Chavista government, also failed to thank Trump in his first messages on social networks after winning the award, which he described as “an immense recognition of the struggle of all Venezuelans.”

Thus, he wrote that he counts on “the people of the United States, the people of Latin America and the democratic nations of the world” as “allies to achieve freedom and democracy”. In a letter he highlighted that this gesture “demonstrates that the international democratic community understands and shares” what he defines as a call for “peace in freedom.”

According to Roberto Enriquezmember of the opposition coalition Democratic Unitary Platform, the Nobel “makes the Venezuelan cause visible, makes it the most important news,” one step before achieving “the redemocratization of Venezuela”. “Here we are happy, like all the Venezuelan people, because she embodies years of struggle, but the struggle of an entire people who peacefully, with commitment and suffering a lot, has not allowed themselves to be victimized, and today that this prestigious institute gives her that recognition, she says that it is for the Venezuelan people.”

This anticipation encourages people. “She is a fighting woman who inspires a lot and reminds us that this award is for everyone,” says a woman from the Andean city of Mérida, remembering all the protests and civil initiatives against the Government and expressing her hope that “victory will soon come.” “They sent me that news and it seemed like a blessing; there is no doubt worldwide that she is a woman with an impeccable career who has earned everyone’s respect,” says a woman from Caracas.

Although the majority of those who identify themselves as opponents of the Chavista regime appreciate a certain unanimity in support for the opposition leader, there is some more or less hidden dissension.

A woman from Maracaibo, in the border state of Zulia, who defines herself as “far-right,” recognizes Machado as “an obviously intelligent woman who has handled herself well in her favor. But she only thinks about herself, without humility,” she says, adding that she herself is among a minority that does not support her.

The breaking point for his support, he says, has been what he perceives as the incitement of what the regime called the “guarimbas”, the blocking of the streets with barricades to prevent the passage of the security forces that were going to repress the civil and student protests between 2014 and 2019.

They are claims that coincide with the demands of the followers of the ruling party, who speak out without the figures at the top of the Government having done so.

While María Corina’s followers highlight that all her victories have been achieved without taking up arms, those who position themselves against her say that this award is a “mockery” after Machado “boycotted the result of the 2024 presidential elections and prevented a peaceful transition”in the words of one of them, which refers to what a large part of the international community points out as an electoral fraud through which Maduro began his third presidential term.

“She never believed in the electoral route and promoted a military insurrection,” he says, alluding to Machado’s calls for soldiers to break their loyalty to the Chavista regime.

Even some in the diaspora are more pessimistic than most. A Venezuelan migrant settled in the United States expresses his doubts about Machado’s suitability as the winner of the award, “at least for now,” and highlights the trend of several opposition figures who “emerge, wane and end up as pro-democracy leaders in Miami.”

“I hope the same thing does not happen with María Corina, but I do not think there will be important changes in itself because currently the geopolitical drivers are focused on military operations in the Caribbean, which are an extension of the internal policies of the Governments of Venezuela and the United States,” he says. Regarding the award, he believes that “the greatest effect would be on the support of the moderates for the Venezuelan opposition, particularly on the part of the center-left,” although he regrets that “It is difficult to see big changes in such a polarized environment just because of an international award”.

But the majority of Venezuelan emigrants and exiles celebrate this recognition of those they see as their leader, the person who proposes solutions to the problems and conflicts that forced them to leave the country.

“María Corina Machado’s Nobel Prize fills me with joy because it gives visibility to the cause of recovering Venezuelan democracy and claiming the electoral victory of July 28, 2024,” says a young woman who has been living in Portugal for less than a year, alluding to the initiative of Machado’s team to publish the electoral records collected in July 2024, while Chavismo has refused to comply with the legal mandate to do so. officially.

“For many, she represents integrity within a system that encourages taking advantage of power to enrich oneself and perpetuate oneself in it,” he says. “Regardless of the disagreements one may have with her, she has been faithful to her values ​​and convictions, even at a very high personal cost and despite the fact that many told her that she should give in or compromise in order to succeed.”