If there is one thing that this 2025 leaves us as a legacy, it is the idea that politics is not just about slogans, but about a silent resistance that forces you to disappear from sight so as not to be silenced. María Corina Machado is not the classic politician we are used to. She is a 58-year-old woman, an industrial engineer with a master’s degree in finance, who thinks in numbers and logic. And it is precisely with this “scientific mind” attitude that she managed to undermine the foundations of the president’s power Nicolás Maduro.
Its history took a decisive turn in 2024, when it became the center of gravity of the opposition. Despite the regime having banned her from running, Machado made a move of rare strategic humility: he put personal ambitions aside and channeled millions of votes up Edmundo González Urrutia. As she traveled across Venezuela by car, welcomed by crowds who saw her as their last hope, she built a network of volunteers that would prove to be her most powerful weapon.
July 28, 2024 was the day of the “data revolution”. Faced with Maduro’s proclamation of victory without evidence, Machado responded with technology. His organization collected and published 83% of the original election minutes online, showing the world a reality different from the official one. It was the first time that a political fraud was exposed mathematically. From that moment, a suspended life began for María Corina: while many of her collaborators were arrested, she remained in the country, going underground to avoid ending up in prison.
For almost all of 2025, his was a “ghost” leadership. He spent over sixteen months moving between safe havens in Caracas, communicating with the world only through short videos recorded on social media to keep his people’s hope high. A psychological resistance that was rewarded on 10 October 2025, when the Norwegian Committee awarded her the Nobel Peace Prize. The motivation celebrated his “tireless work to promote democratic rights and a peaceful transition” in one of the most difficult contexts in the world.
The pinnacle of this incredible year was the month of December. While her daughter, Ana Corina Sosa, initially collected the medal on behalf of her mother in Oslo, Machado finally managed to reach the Norwegian capital, coming out of the shadow of the Venezuelan clandestinity to bring his direct testimony to the world.
We chose her among the ten women of 2025 because María Corina Machado proved that strength doesn’t have to be shouted. He taught us that the truth, when supported by rigorous organization and calm courage, can be heavier than tanks. Today she is not only the heroine of Venezuela, she is the global symbol of the fact that democracy requires constant, physical commitment and, above all, without compromise.
