Digging Into Venezuela, the Pulitzer, and the Bailout for Argentina

In this recording with

Marlon Weems

, we discussed why Maria Corina Machado’s winning the Nobel Peace Prize is so problematic. As the leader of one of as many as 10 Venezuelan political parties opposed to President Nicolás Maduro, Machado has been accused of alienating more moderate voters, more so than Maduro, by being too far to the right politically and aligning herself with problematic people and groups.

Machado’s actions have been labeled as undemocratic, not just for calling on foreign countries, like Israel, to invade Venezuela, but also because Machado has called for a boycott of various elections through the years, rather than empowering people to participate. The most recent elections she called to boycott were the parliamentary and regional elections in May 2025. She is often blamed for creating distrust of the process and disenfranchising many voters.

Machado’s policy positions also target many of the popular policies that were legislated under Former President Hugo Chavez, protecting various cultural and ethnic groups, such as Black and Indigenous Venezuelans. She has declared she would privatize all of Venezuela’s infrastructure, resources, healthcare, and social programs, putting them out of reach for poor Venezuelans. In addition, her economic and social positions mimic those of Argentine President Javier Milei. Many of which removed protections for Indigenous groups.

Milei operates on the same bigoted platform as Trump: governing by culture wars.

Laws protecting Indigenous people in modern Venezuela:

• The Constitution of Venezuela recognised the multiethnic, pluricultural, and multilingual character of Venezuelan society in 1999.

• The Law on Demarcation and Guarantee of the Habitat and Lands of Indigenous Peoples was passed in 2001.

• The Organic Law on Indigenous Peoples and Communities was passed in 2005.

• The Indigenous Languages Act was passed in 2007.

These laws are a result of Chavismo, a term to describe supporters of these policies that has been weaponized as a slur (Chavista) against anyone seeking diplomacy and humanity to support the people of Venezuela, which includes equally caring for Black, Indigenous, and mixed-race Venezuelans as much as anyone else. It’s a slur that can get you killed by supporters of Machado’s opposition in Venezuela

The opposition Machado represents came to power by loudly pushing back against those polices, much like MAGA pushing back against diversity, equity, and inclusion, Critical Race Theory (a course only taught in graduate school to law students), and targeting the LGBTQ community. It’s worth remembering that Machado was present during a coup against Chavez in 2002, when the puppet installed by the U.S., Pedro Carmona, suspended the Venezuelan Constitution to end these and many other laws. Carmona also signed a decree dissolving the Venezuelan National Assembly and the Supreme Court.