Join us Thursday, November 2 at 7:00 for a talk on the escalating political crisis in Venezuela, by Dr. Leonardo Vivas of Northeastern University.
Once one of the wealthiest countries in Latin America, declining oil prices have had a devastating impact on Venezuela’s economy and significantly hampered the socialist government’s ability to reduce inequality and poverty through housing initiatives and other social programs. Lacking access to food, medicine, and other essential goods, hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans have taken to the streets since 2014 to call for elections and the restoration of Venezuela’s constitutional democracy. As clashes between protesters and pro-government groups grow increasingly violent, President Nicolás Maduro, who retains a significant base of support despite the cataclysmic economic situation, has moved to marginalize, silence and divide the opposition.
Leonardo Vivas (PhD, Université Nanterre, Paris; MPhil, University of Sussex) is a sociologist from Venezuela’s Central University. He is a former Fellow at the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy and Director of the Latin American Initiative at Harvard Kennedy School. He is the author of two books on Chavismo and Venezuelan politics.
✽ Thursday, November 2 at 7:00 PM | Griffin 7