María Corina Machado Receives Ivan Allen Jr. Prize for Social Courage

From an undisclosed location in her home country of Venezuela, María Corina Machado joined online to participate in the celebration held at the Biltmore Hotel in Tech Square, where she was awarded the Ivan Allen Jr. Prize for Social Courage.  

The leader of the country's opposition party remains in hiding and unable to leave the country. Elected to the Venezuelan National Assembly in 2010, she became a vocal critic of Hugo Chávez and his successor, Nicolás Maduro. Machado became the opposition's presidential candidate for the Unity Democratic Platform in 2023 but was later disqualified from holding office by the regime-controlled National Electoral Council. Still, her efforts to inspire change did not stop. 

Machado rallied support behind the opposition candidate, Edmundo González, and organized a million volunteers to monitor polling locations and collect data to support the party's claim of victory. While the Maduro regime remains in power despite data showing victory for the opposition, Machado is hopeful that democracy will prevail. Speaking via Zoom, Machado said the courage that earned her the award is a shared value among the Venezuelan people.  

"Social courage is what Venezuelans have proven to have. Over 25 years, we've seen this tyranny oppress, divide, persecute, and deprive, and we've had many falls, but we've stood back up. Our strength is not in firearms. It is in effective organization, intelligence, courage, and love, and there is no more powerful force than love," she said.  

Presenting the award, Georgia Tech President Ángel Cabrera reflected on Machado's early career as an industrial engineer and human rights activist through the founding of Sumate, a vote-monitoring group, in 2002. 

"She understands systems and data, which allowed her to identify and document dysfunction in Venezuela's electoral process. She took it as a mission to bring forward solutions to address the challenges in her country. She has become a champion for her country and a beacon for fair and free elections around the world. Her story reminds us that data and technology alone do not drive change, but they are powerful tools in the hands of responsible leaders and can be used to make a difference," Cabrera said. 

Her children, Ana Corina Sosa Machado and Ricardo Machado, accepted the award. Ana spoke of her mother's dedication to her cause and willingness to speak out for what she believes in despite the risks.  

"If there is one thing I've learned from my mother, it's that courage, truth, and hope are our most powerful weapons in disarming evil. That courage is not a virtue to be used only when it is convenient, noncontroversial, or safe, but rather its true test lies in the darkest of times when standing for what is right might mean standing alone, alienating allies, and even risking your own life.," she said. 

The prize was established in 2010 to honor the legacy of Ivan Allen Jr., former mayor of Atlanta and a Georgia Tech graduate, who was known for his courageous leadership during the Civil Rights Movement. Ana sees a parallel between the prize's namesake and her mother.  

"Ivan Allen Jr. knew well what it meant to stand against the status quo, to fight for what is right despite the costs. Most importantly, he knew that moral courage in defense of truth and what is right is contagious. That is what my mother has ignited in Venezuela — an unstoppable force, not grounded in violence or strength but in the love of country." 

The event featured a panel moderated by CNN national correspondent Rafael Romo and featuring Jennie Lincoln, a senior advisor for Latin America and the Caribbean at the Carter Center; Charles Shapiro, former U.S. Ambassador to Venezuela and former director of the World Affairs Council; and Eric Farnsworth, vice president of the America Society and Council of the Americas. 

Each panelist was asked if there was hope for democracy in the country, and each expressed their opinion that Machado is the primary factor in keeping that hope alive, and Farnsworth said she should be awarded a Nobel Peace Prize for her work.  

Thanks to a generous grant from the Wilbur and Hilda Glenn Foundation, the Allen Prize includes a monetary stipend of $100,000 to accompany the award. Past recipients include John Lewis, Andrew Young, Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter, Dr. Anthony Fauci, and Christiane Amanpour.