2025 노벨평화상
베네수엘라 야권 지도자 ‘마리아 코리나 마차도’ (María Corina Machado) 수상해
베네수엘라의 민주 증진과 독재 체제를 민주주의로 전환하기 위해 투쟁한 공로
2024년 노벨평화상 수상자로 베네수엘라 야권 지도자 마리아 코리나 마차도 (María Corina Machado)가 선정됐다.
노르웨이 노벨위원회는 10월 10일 (현지시간) 베네수엘라 국민들의 민주적 권리를 증진하고 독재 체제를 평화적으로 민주주의로 전환하기 위해 투쟁한 공로로 마리아 코리나 마차도 (María Corina Machado)를 2025년 노벨평화상 수상자로 선정했다고 밝혔다. 이번 수상으로 마차도는 1901년 노벨평화상 제정 이후 106번째 수상자가 됐다.
노벨평화상은 알프레드 노벨의 유지에 따라 인류 평화에 이바지한 인물이나 단체에 수여한다. 수상자는 상금 1천100만 스웨덴 크로나 (약 16억4천만원)를 받게 된다. 노벨의 초상과 ‘Pro pace et fraternitate gentium’ (인류의 평화와 우애를 위해)이라는 라틴어 문구를 새긴 18캐럿 금메달도 함께 받는다.
마리아 코리나 마차도 (María Corina Machado, 1967년 10월 7일 ~ )는 2011년부터 2014년까지 베네수엘라 국회의원을 역임했으며 벤테 베네수엘라 정당의 창립자이자 국가 조정자다. 마차도는 투표 감시 단체 소마티 (Somati)의 창립자로 명성을 얻었으며 베네수엘라의 정부 남용, 탄압, 경제 및 인도주의적 위기에 대해 노골적으로 비판해 왔다. 그녀는 2012년 대선 출마에 실패했고 2014년 베네수엘라 시위 당시 주요 시위 조직자였다.
마차도는 2023년 베네수엘라 야권 경선에서 압도적인 지지를 받아 승리했지만, 이후 정부에 의해 2024년 대선 출마 자격을 박탈당했다. 그녀는 민주주의와 인권을 옹호하는 영향력 있는 야당 지도자로 남아 있으며, 종종 베네수엘라 출국 금지를 포함한 탄압과 정부 제한에 직면한다.
국제적으로 그녀는 세계에서 가장 영향력 있는 여성 중 한 명으로 인정받고 있으며 인권 활동으로 상을 받았다. 2024년에는 니콜라스 마두로 (Nicolas Maduro) 정권에 반대하고 논란이 되고 있는 2024년 선거에서 야당 후보인 에드문도 곤잘레스 우루티아 (Edmundo González Urrutia)를 지지하는 데 결정적인 역할을 했다.
올해 노벨상 수상자 발표 행사는 지난 10월 6일 생리의학상 수상자 공개를 시작으로 물리학상, 화학상, 문학상 등 순서로 이뤄졌고, 오는 13일 경제학상 수상자 발표로 마무리된다.
The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided to award the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize to Maria Corina Machado 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.
As the leader of the democracy movement in Venezuela, Maria Corina Machado is one of the most extraordinary examples of civilian courage in Latin America in recent times.
Ms Machado has been a key, unifying figure in a political opposition that was once deeply divided – an opposition that found common ground in the demand for free elections and representative government. This is precisely what lies at the heart of democracy: our shared willingness to defend the principles of popular rule, even though we disagree. At a time when democracy is under threat, it is more important than ever to defend this common ground.
Venezuela has evolved from a relatively democratic and prosperous country to a brutal, authoritarian state that is now suffering a humanitarian and economic crisis. Most Venezuelans live in deep poverty, even as the few at the top enrich themselves. The violent machinery of the state is directed against the country’s own citizens. Nearly 8 million people have left the country. The opposition has been systematically suppressed by means of election rigging, legal prosecution and imprisonment.
Venezuela’s authoritarian regime makes political work extremely difficult. As a founder of Súmate, an organisation devoted to democratic development, Ms Machado stood up for free and fair elections more than 20 years ago. As she said: “It was a choice of ballots over bullets.” In political office and in her service to organisations since then, Ms Machado has spoken out for judicial independence, human rights and popular representation. She has spent years working for the freedom of the Venezuelan people.
Ahead of the election of 2024, Ms Machado was the opposition’s presidential candidate, but the regime blocked her candidacy. She then backed the representative of a different party, Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, in the election. Hundreds of thousands of volunteers mobilised across political divides. They were trained as election observers to ensure a transparent and fair election. Despite the risk of harassment, arrest and torture, citizens across the country held watch over the polling stations. They made sure the final tallies were documented before the regime could destroy ballots and lie about the outcome.
The efforts of the collective opposition, both before and during the election, were innovative and brave, peaceful and democratic. The opposition received international support when its leaders publicised the vote counts that had been collected from the country’s election districts, showing that the opposition had won by a clear margin. But the regime refused to accept the election result, and clung to power.
Democracy is a precondition for lasting peace. However, we live in a world where democracy is in retreat, where more and more authoritarian regimes are challenging norms and resorting to violence. The Venezuelan regime’s rigid hold on power and its repression of the population are not unique in the world. We see the same trends globally: rule of law abused by those in control, free media silenced, critics imprisoned, and societies pushed towards authoritarian rule and militarisation. In 2024, more elections were held than ever before, but fewer and fewer are free and fair.
In its long history, the Norwegian Nobel Committee has honoured brave women and men who have stood up to repression, who have carried the hope of freedom in prison cells, on the streets and in public squares, and who have shown by their actions that peaceful resistance can change the world. In the past year, Ms Machado has been forced to live in hiding. Despite serious threats against her life she has remained in the country, a choice that has inspired millions of people.
When authoritarians seize power, it is crucial to recognise courageous defenders of freedom who rise and resist. Democracy depends on people who refuse to stay silent, who dare to step forward despite grave risk, and who remind us that freedom must never be taken for granted, but must always be defended – with words, with courage and with determination.
Maria Corina Machado meets all three criteria stated in Alfred Nobel’s will for the selection of a Peace Prize laureate. She has brought her country’s opposition together. She has never wavered in resisting the militarisation of Venezuelan society. She has been steadfast in her support for a peaceful transition to democracy.
Maria Corina Machado has shown that the tools of democracy are also the tools of peace. She embodies the hope of a different future, one where the fundamental rights of citizens are protected, and their voices are heard. In this future, people will finally be free to live in peace.
Learn more: https://bit.ly/4o0sckV
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