María Corina Machado and Edmundo González win the 2024 Sakharov Prize awarded by the European Parliament

Maria Corina Machado and Edmundo Gonzalez they have won the Sakharov Prize 2024 granted by the European Parliament, as announced the president of Parliament, Roberta Metsola.

Both have been worthy of recognition “for their brave fight to restore freedom and democracy in Venezuela. In their search for a fair, free and peaceful transition of power,” Metsola justified. «They have fearlessly defended the values ​​that millions of Venezuelans and the European Parliament hold so dear: justice, democracy and the rule of law. The European Parliament stands with the people of Venezuela and with Maria Corina Machado and President-elect Edmundo González Urrutia in their fight for the democratic future of their country. “This award is for them.”

The European Parliament awards this prize every year to recognize the defense of human rights. In the case of Machado and González Urrutia, they have been recognized for their fight “to restore freedom and democracy” in Venezuela.

His candidacy came from the European People’s Party (EPP), the main promoter of a recent motion in the European Parliament to recognize González as the elected president of Venezuela.

The European Parliament has already granted the Sakharov Prize to the entire Venezuelan opposition in 2017although in recent years it had focused on personalities and organizations from Iran, Ukraine, Russia, Belarus and China.

The formal delivery of the Sakharov, which involves 50,000 eurosand will take place on December 18 in Strasbourg, during the plenary session of Parliament.