The European parliament has awarded its top human rights honor, the Sakharov prize for freedom of thought, to Venezuelan opposition leaders María Corina Machado and Edmundo González for “representing the people of Venezuela fighting to restore freedom and democracy”.
Machado was set to run as the democratic opposition candidate against the incumbent president, Nicolás Maduro, in Venezuela’s contested 2024 election, but she was disqualified by the government, so González took her place. He had never run for office before the presidential election.
The lead-up to the poll saw widespread repression, including disqualifications, arrests and human rights violations. Machado went into hiding, fearing for her life. A Venezuelan court issued an arrest warrant for González, who claimed political asylum in Spain.
“In their quest for a fair, free and peaceful transition of power, they have fearlessly upheld values that millions of Venezuelans and the European parliament hold so dear: justice, democracy and the rule of law,” Roberta Metsola, president of the European parliament, told EU lawmakers.
“This parliament stands with the people of Venezuela and with María and Edmundo in their struggle for the democratic future of their country,” she added. “We are confident that Venezeula and democracy will ultimately prevail.”
Machado’s group maintains that it has evidence that González won the 28 July presidential election by a wide margin, despite Maduro’s claim to have won.
Maduro’s victory was contested by independent observers, including the United Nations. In a resolution last month, the EU parliament recognized González as Venezuela’s legitimate president.
In a post on X, González said that he was “honored and grateful” for the award.
He thanked Machado, describing her as “an exceptional person who, with all her political talent, her absolute dedication and her indomitable spirit, paved the way that we are currently following, keeping the flame of freedom alive in our country”.
González also expressed his “gratitude, pride and admiration for my Venezuelan compatriots, who with the utmost civility, courage and determination have for years confronted, and continue to confront, a regime that systematically violates human rights”.
But he warned that “the struggle is not over. The regime persists in blocking political change, committing more and more human rights violations and crimes against humanity,” and he urged supporters of democracy everywhere to help “enforce the sovereign mandate of the Venezuelan people”.
The EU award, named after Andrei Sakharov, a Soviet dissident and Nobel peace prize laureate, was created in 1988 to honor individuals or groups who defend human rights and basic freedoms.
The winner is chosen by senior EU lawmakers from among candidates nominated by the European parliament’s various political groups. The assembly says the award is “the highest tribute paid by the European Union to human rights work”.
Two Middle East grassroots groups, Women Wage Peace and Women of the Sun, were on the shortlist for their efforts to bridge the divide between Israelis and Palestinians, as was the Azerbaijan academic and anti-corruption activist Gubad Ibadoghlu.
Several laureates – including Nelson Mandela, Malala Yousafzai, Denis Mukwege and Nadia Murad – went on to win the Nobel peace prize.
The annual award, with its €50,000 ($54,000) endowment, will be presented in a ceremony at the European parliament in Strasbourg, France, in mid-December.
