Amid ever-expanding authoritarianism in Venezuela, Maria Corino Machado, worked to constantly light the flame of democracy.

The 58-year-old industrial engineer reacted with shock when she heard that she was the recipient of the most prestigious Nobel award, the Peace Prize 2025. She said she "did not deserve it"; "I am just one person, and this is a movement of a whole society," she added.

In a true definition of grassroots activism, Maria does not just give speeches – she works among the people.

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Watch a video of her reaction, here:

In a nation troubled by instability, in 1992, an unsuccessful coup marked an attempt to seize control of the government of Venezuela by the Hugo Chávez-led Revolutionary Bolivarian Movement.

The same year, Machado established the Atenea Foundation, which works to benefit street children in Caracas.

Ten years later, she was one of the founders of Súmate, which promotes free and fair elections and has conducted training and election monitoring. In 2010, she was elected to the National Assembly, winning a record number of votes.

Machado is National Coordinator of Vente Venezuela, a liberal political organisation born in 2013 of which she is a founding member.

In 2014, after Machado testified on unrest in Venezuela from Panama's seat during a meeting of the Organisation of American States, the president of the Venezuelan National Assembly, announced that Machado would no longer serve as an assembly deputy.

But that was not all - the year also saw Machado being indicted on charges that she took part in an alleged plot to kill President Nicolas Maduro.

Three years later, she helped found the Soy Venezuela alliance, which unites pro-democracy forces in the country across political dividing lines.

After announcing her candidacy for president in the 2024 elections, she was blocked from running, leading to her supporting the opposition's alternative candidate, Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia.

However, the Maduro regime declared victory and tightened its grip on power. Machado has long been a voice for democracy, but she continued to face accusations of treason, terrorism, conspiracy and assassination, as well as repeated threats of imprisonment, a ban on leaving the country since April 2014.

With multiple awards to her name already, the Nobel Peace Prize 2025 recognises a voice for people's rights at a time when the world is seeing a decline in democracy.

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