Wednesday, November 29, 2017 | 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm
American Enterprise Institute (AEI), Auditorium
1789 Massachusetts Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20036
Event Summary
On Wednesday, AEI and the Americas Society/Council of the Americas
hosted an event featuring Antonio Ledezma, the mayor of Caracas and
cofounder of the Soy Venezuela movement, to discuss the ongoing
political, humanitarian, and economic crises in Venezuela.
Mr. Ledezma delivered opening remarks and spoke with AEI’s Roger F.
Noriega on his experience living through Venezuela’s descent into
hyperinflation, economic recession, and extreme corruption. He
emphasized the scale of the many challenges his country faces and
recounted the story of his politically motivated arrest in 2015 and his
recent escape from house arrest. He also stressed the urgent necessity
of unity among the Venezuelan opposition and citizens who want to
liberate themselves from the Maduro regime. Mr. Ledezma thanked the
international community and the United States for its continued strong
support for restoring Venezuelan democracy.
The question and answer portion of the event touched on comparisons
to political crises in Bolivia and Zimbabwe, the likelihood of the
Maduro regime’s collapse, the effectiveness of US sanctions on key
Venezuelan officials, and what form a transition in government in
Venezuela might take.
–Kevin Reagan
Event Description
Thirty million Venezuelans are struggling to survive in a nation
looted and crushed by the regime of President Nicolás Maduro. Many
leaders of the splintered Venezuelan democratic opposition have been
coopted, jailed, or forced into exile. Antonio Ledezma, the
democratically elected mayor of Caracas, galvanizes a civic movement
aimed at confronting the regime and rallying international sanctions to
hasten democratic change. For the first time since recently escaping the
country, he sheds new light on a society in collapse and suggests new
recipes for action.
Join AEI and the Americas Society/Council of the Americas for a
timely discussion with Mr. Ledezma on Venezuela’s daunting challenges.
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