Venezuela Will Breathe Again: WE ARE RETURNING TO OURSELVES. WE ARE RETURNING HOME.

The article focuses on a Nobel Prize lecture delivered by María Corina Machado, Venezuelan opposition leader, recounting Venezuela's struggle for democracy and freedom amid decades of authoritarian rule. Machado outlines the country's rich cultural heritage, its democratic foundations, and the subsequent erosion of institutions under a regime marked by corruption, repression, and economic collapse, which forced millions into exile. She describes the 2023 opposition primary and the 2024 presidential election as pivotal moments of civic mobilization and hope, despite violent state retaliation and human rights abuses documented by the United Nations. Machado emphasizes the ongoing commitment of Venezuelans to peaceful resistance, democratic renewal, and the restoration of freedom, framing their cause as a universal struggle for human dignity and peace.