Toward a Venezuelan Transition? Escaping a Complex Humanitarian Emergency (Panel 1)

Date: 

Thursday, March 18, 2021, 11:00am to 12:30pm

Location: 

Zoom registration information below.

This event is virtual and will be held in English with simultaneous Spanish translation. To register click here.

Speakers: Ricardo Hausmann, Director, Growth Lab; Rafik Hariri Professor of the Practice of International Political Economy, Harvard Kennedy School;  Francisco Cox Vial, lawyer and member of the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, appointed by the United Nation’s Human Rights Council.

Moderated by: Steven Levitsky, Professor of Government, Harvard University, Director, David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies; José Ignacio Hernández G., Fellow, Growth Lab at Harvard's Center for International Development

The Venezuelan crisis is, first of all, a humanitarian one triggered by the gradual collapse of the state, the GDP collapse amidst hyperinflation, the biggest humanitarian crisis of refugees and migrants in the region, and systematic violations of human rights. The Venezuelan humanitarian crisis has been aggravated by the pandemic -a crisis within a crisis. The seminars will analyze the current dimension of the humanitarian crisis in Venezuela and the international initiatives to advance in a comprehensive solution.

Ricardo Hausmann is the founder and Director of Harvard’s Growth Lab and the Rafik Hariri Professor of the Practice of International Political Economy at Harvard Kennedy School. Under his leadership, the Growth Lab has grown into one of the most well regarded and influential hubs for research on international development.

Francisco Cox Vial is a prominent criminal lawyer. He led the Interdisciplinary Group of Independent Experts (GIEI) appointed by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and the Government of President Enrique Peña Nieto to investigate the case of the 43 missing students in Ayotzinapa (Mexico). Mr. Cox litigated before the International Criminal Court, including in the case against Dominic Ongwen, in which Cox represents 2605 victims of the armed conflict in northern Uganda. Recently GRULAC nominated him to integrate the panel of five world experts that advises the Executive Committee of the Assembly of States Parties of the International Criminal Court to elect the next Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court. He studied law at Diego Portales University and then obtained a Master's Degree (LL.M) from Columbia University. Member of the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, appointed by the UN Human Right Council.

Steven Levitsky is a Professor of Government at Harvard University. His research interests include political parties, authoritarianism and democratization, and weak and informal institutions, with a focus on Latin America.

José Ignacio Hernández G. is a Law Professor at the Catholic University Andrés Bello in Venezuela, as well as Visiting Professor at the Castilla-La Mancha University in Spain. His research interest include rule of law and development, state capability and authoritarian-populist institutions in Latin America.

Presented in collaboration with the David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies.This is a two-part seminar series, learn more about the second event and register

See also: Event, Growth Lab