Venezuela: “The Achievement of a Whole Society”

Welcome to IWPR’s Frontline Update, your go-to source to hear from journalists and local voices at the front lines of conflict.

 THE BIG PICTURE  

Venezuela’s most influential opposition leader was awarded the Nobel Prize this week in a win the selection committee highlighted as an “extraordinary example of civilian courage” keeping “the flame of democracy alive”.

María Corina Machado’s win highlighted her lifelong struggle for democracy and her major accomplishment last year - proving beyond reasonable doubt that she was the true winner of the fraudulent 2024 presidential elections.

But as she herself reacted as she was awoken to the news, “I hope you understand, this is a movement, this is the achievement of a whole society.”

 VOICES FROM THE FRONTLINE 

“In the run up to the 2024 elections, Machado and her team worked together with multiple civil society actors preparing, in secret and despite persistent regime surveillance, a way to prove without a doubt who the true winner was,” said Dhaniella Falk, IWPR’s Director for Latin America.

That involved activists quietly training thousands of election observers to photograph vote tallies, IT experts using the ballots’ QR codes and other technology to verify information, and dozens of pro-democracy organisations encouraging people to not only to go out and vote but also to record the results.

Hundreds of thousands of citizens, activists and civil society groups were involved in that remarkable feat in the face of authoritarian backsliding.

“This is so meaningful, not just for her, but for all Venezuelans who want democracy,” exiled political commentator Ana Milagros Parra said in a social media post after the Nobel prize announcement. “It reclaims the Venezuelan democratic struggle, and it stands as a milestone of hope for all the people forced into hiding, for all the people being persecuted, and every citizen silenced.”

 WHY IT MATTERS 

Machado’s win shows just what can be achieved for human rights and democracy when diverse groups come together under strong and unifying leadership.

IWPR, present in Venezuela supporting journalists and civil society since 2020, has had the honour of witnessing firsthand the quality and tenacity of Venezuela’s pro-democracy movement.

We have supported independent civil society and media to report on the challenges they face as well as to develop collaborative communications campaigns and to work together to shine a light on regime corruption and manipulation.

One IWPR-supported initiative, for instance - the C-Informa collaborative alliance - brought together journalists and activists to publish dozens of stories investigating and exposing organised pro-regime propaganda networks.

By working together, bringing in multidisciplinary actors that are able to reach diverse audiences from across the country and abroad, such coalitions can create more impact than any one person or group.

 THE BOTTOM LINE 

“I am just one person, I certainly don’t deserve this,” Machado said on hearing she had won the prestigious award, and her win certainly shows the impact of collaborative action.

Awarding Machado the prize, the Nobel committee noted, “When authoritarians seize power, it is crucial to recognise courageous defenders of freedom who rise and resist.”

Independent media and civil society are crucial actors in fuelling this resistance, and IWPR works with both sectors across Latin America to support them driving democratic change in their own societies.