LAIS Tertulia: Understanding Venezuela’s Crisis

A Roundtable with the Participation of

Kathleen Bruhn (Political Science, UCSB) • Evelyne Laurent-Perrault (History, UCSB) •

 Juan Pablo Lupi (Spanish and Portuguese, UCSB) • Andreína Soto Segura (History, UCSB)

TUESDAY FEBRUARY 26 – 12:00PM -1:30PM –  HSSB 3041

Venezuela is in the news again. This time for two reasons: First, a humanitarian crisis of hemispheric proportions, in which hyperinflation and a widespread scarcity of food and medicines has caused the displacement of over 3 million people from Venezuela to Colombia, Ecuador, Perú, Chile and Brazil. Second, a political crisis in which—at the time these lines are being written—there are two parallel governments in conflict. The possible outcomes of this confrontation are impossible to predict, and they range from a transition to democracy to the outbreak of a civil war. The goal of this roundtable is to explain the reasons behind these events and help us understand them. Invoking traditional paradigms like “left” vs. “right” or “US interventionism” will not get us very far. Both crises should be understood both in the context of 21st century geopolitics (the South American region, Cuba, Russia, China, the US, Europe and even organized crime have major stakes here), and in a historical context that is attentive to how the modern Venezuelan state was built since the beginning of the 20th century.

** Light refreshments will be served. Please feel free to bring your lunch.