Stanford University

Statement on the Abduction of Summer Fellows Alum Jesús Armas (2022, Venezuela)

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The faculty and staff of Stanford's Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law (CDDRL), as well as the undersigned alumni of the Fisher Family Summer Fellows Program (FFSF, formerly known as the Draper Hills Summer Fellows Program, DHSF), demand the immediate and safe release of our friend and colleague, Jesús Armas, who has been kidnapped by agents of the Venezuelan government.

Jesús has bravely worked with the opposition to promote fair elections and uphold democracy in Venezuela. His abduction is a blatant act of repression aimed at silencing his vital work for freedom and justice.

We call on the Venezuelan government to release Jesús immediately and urge the international community to condemn this attack on democracy and human rights. Jesús inspires us all, and we stand united in solidarity with him and his fight for a brighter future for Venezuela.

Signed,

Tatevik Matinyan, Armenia (DHSF 2022)

Daria Minsky, Belarus (DHSF 2022)

Mariana Mello, Brazil (DHSF 2022)

Tainah Pereira, Brazil (DHSF 2022)

Assefa Getaneh, Ethiopia (DHSF 2022)

Zurab Sanikidze, Georgia (DHSF 2022)

Gabriel Reyes Silva, Guatemala (DHSF 2022)

Ritu Sain, India (DHSF 2022)

Aida Aidarkulova, Kazakhstan (DHSF 2022)

Carol Kiangura, Kenya (DHSF 2022)

Jacqueline Akinyi Okeyo Manani, Kenya (DHSF 2022)

Ainura Usupbekova, Kyrgyz Republic (DHSF 2022)

Alaa Al Sayegh, Lebanon (DHSF 2022)

Jad Maalouf, Lebanon (DHSF 2022)

Natasha E. Feghali, Lebanon (DHSF 2022)

Mariela Saldivar Villalobos, Mexico (DHSF 2022)

Bulgantuya Khurelbaatar, Mongolia (DHSF 2022)

Sarita Pariyar, Nepal (DHSF 2022)

Dr. Babatunde Omilola, Nigeria (DHSF 2022)

Daniel Alfaro, Peru (DHSF 2022)

Andréa Ngombet, Republic of Congo (DHSF 2022)

Jamus Lim, Singapore (DHSF 2022)

Anchal Baniparsadh, South Africa (DHSF 2022)

Geline Alfred Fuko, Tanzania (DHSF 2022)

Ornella Moderan, Togo (DHSF 2022)

Denis Gutenko, Ukraine (DHSF 2022)

Nariman Ustaiev, Ukraine (DHSF 2022)

Yulia Bezvershenko, Ukraine (DHSF 2022)

Rayhan Asat, Uyghur human rights lawyer / USA (DHSF 2022)

Tien Trung Nguyen, Vietnam (DHSF 2022)

Brett Carter, Assistant Professor, University of Southern California; Hoover Fellow, Stanford University; Affiliate, CDDRL, Stanford University, USA

Biljana Spasovska, Executive Director, BCSDN, North Macedonia (FFSF 2024)

Sunny Cheung, Hong Kong (FFSF 2023)

Hector Fuentes, Visiting Scholar at CDDRL, Venezuela (FFSF 2024)

Erik Jensen, Affiliated Faculty, CDDRL, USA

Khatia, Former member of the Parliament, Georgia (FFSF 2024)

Mykhailo Pavliuk, Chernivtsi Oblast Legislature, Ukraine (FFSF 2023)

Alice Siu, Deliberative Democracy Lab, USA

María Ignacia Curiel, Researcher at Poverty, Violence and Governance Lab, CDDRL, Stanford, USA 

Thao Dinh, Coordinator of Civil Society Forum, Vietnam (FFSF 2024)

Tem Fuh, Project Manager, Institute for Security Studies, Kenya (FFSF 2023)

Dagva, Open Society Forum, Mongolia (FFSF 2024)

Margaret Levi, Senior Fellow, CDDRL, USA

Halyna Yanchenko, Member of Parliament of Ukraine, Ukraine (FFSF 2023)

Iaroslav Liubchenko, Head of the Department on Building Integrity in The Defence and Security Sector at the National Agency on Corruption Prevention, Ukraine (FFSF 2023)

Nora Sulots, Communications Manager, CDDRL, USA

Cristofer Correia, Voluntad Popular, Venezuela (FFSF 2023)

Stephen Stedman, Senior Fellow, CDDRL, Stanford, USA

Sally Abi Khalll, Oxfam, Lebanon (FFSF 2023)

Ivetta Sergeeva, Postdoctoral Fellow, CDDRL, Russia

Valentin Bolotnyy, Kleinheinz Fellow, Hoover Institution, USA

Gulsanna Mamediieva, Georgetown University, USA (FFSF 2023)

Tamar Khulordava, Former MP, founder of Egeria Solutions, Georgia (FFSF 2023)

Francis Fukuyama, Olivier Nomellini Senior Fellow, Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, and Director, Ford Dorsey Masters in International Policy, Stanford, USA

Betilde Muñoz-Pogossian, Director of Social Inclusion at the Organization of American States, USA (DHSF 2021)

Sophie Richardson, Visiting Scholar, CDDRL, Stanford University, USA

Diego Zambrano, Professor of Law, Stanford Law School, USA/Venezuela

Beatriz Magaloni, Graham H. Stuart Professor, Political Science and Senior Fellow, FSI, Stanford University, USA and Mexico

Didi Kuo, Center Fellow, CDDRL, USA

Dinsha Mistree, Affiliated Researcher, CDDRL; Research Fellow, Hoover Institution, USA

Evan Mawarire, Senior Fellow, USA (DHSF 2018)

Raihana Maqbool, Independent Journalist, India (DHSF 2021)

Alon Tal, Visiting Professor, USA/Israel

Nikita Makarenko, Independent Journalist, Uzbekistan (DHSF 2021)

Ghina Bou Chakra, Amnesty International, Lebanon (FFSF 2023)

Alberto Díaz Cayeros, Senior Fellow, CDDRL, Stanford University, USA / Mexico

Aisha Yesufu, Citizens Hub, Nigeria (DHSF 2021)

Gillian Slee, Gerhard Casper Fellow in Rule of Law, CDDRL, USA

Victor Spinu, Parliament of the Republic of Moldova, Republic of Moldova (FFSF 2024)

Denis Gutenko, AirLittoral Cofounder, Ukraine (DHSF 2022)

Ali Carkoglu, Political Scientist, CDDRL Visiting Scholar, USA

Jamie O'Connell, Lecturer in Residence, Stanford Law School and Affiliated Scholar, CDDRL, USA

Ruben Mascarenhas, National Joint Secretary, Aam Aadmi Party, India (FFSF 2023)

Kumi Naidoo, Payne Distinguished Lecturer, 2023-25, USA / South Africa

Mary-Therese Heintzkill, Program Manager, CDDRL, USA

James Fearon, Professor, Stanford University, USA

Kim Juárez Jensen, Poverty, Violence, and Governance Lab, USA

Larry Diamond, Senior Fellow, Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law, Stanford University, USA

Manasi Subramaniam, India (FFSF 2023)

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We are concerned and outraged to learn of the state-sponsored abduction of 2022 Fisher Family Summer Fellow Jesús Armas by agents of the Maduro regime in Venezuela. We urge the regime to release him from detention immediately.

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A Conversation with Leopoldo López: How to Defend Democracy and Fight Autocracy

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Registration for this event is now closed.

A Conversation with Leopoldo López: How to Defend Democracy and Fight Autocracy

Join us for an inspiring conversation with Leopoldo López, General Secretary of the World Liberty Congress, Venezuelan opposition leader, and pro-democracy activist. In this talk, López will reflect on his recent TED Talk, where he passionately advocated for defending democracy worldwide and resisting the rise of autocratic regimes.

According to López, seventy-two percent of the world's population lives under some form of autocratic rule. Drawing from his harrowing personal experience of imprisonment, house arrest, and eventual exile for opposing Nicolás Maduro's regime in Venezuela, he will share his vision for uniting global efforts to champion freedom and push back against authoritarianism.

This event is co-sponsored by the Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law (CDDRL), CDDRL's Poverty, Violence, and Governance Lab, and the Stanford Society for Latin American Politics.

Speakers

Leopoldo Lopez

Leopoldo López

General Secretary of the World Liberty Congress, Venezuelan opposition leader, and pro-democracy activist

Leopoldo López is a Venezuelan opposition leader and pro-democracy activist. He was the 2018 Robert G. Wesson Lecturer in International Relations Theory and Practice at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies at Stanford University. He founded the Venezuelan opposition party Voluntad Popular and served as mayor of the Chacao municipality in Caracas. 

In 2014, Leopoldo was arrested on trumped-up charges for leading peaceful, nationwide protests denouncing Nicolás Maduro’s regime. After a 19-month show trial, he was sentenced to nearly 14 years in prison.

He spent the first four years in solitary confinement in a military prison. He was subsequently placed under house arrest as a result of international pressure and outrage within Venezuela. Amnesty International named him a prisoner of conscience in 2015. Leopoldo escaped house arrest and was hosted at the Spanish embassy in Caracas. After a daring escape from Venezuela in October 2020, Leopoldo was reunited with his family in Spain, where he now lives in exile.

Today, he continues to be a leading voice in calling for democracy not only in Venezuela but also across the globe. Leopoldo is a co-founder of the World Liberty Congress, which he strongly believes will be instrumental in unifying pro-democracy and human rights activists to combat the global trend toward authoritarianism.

Ismar Marte

Isamar Marte, '26

President, Stanford Society for Latin American Politics (SSLAP)
Moderator

Isamar Marte is the president of the Stanford Society for Latin American Politics (SSLAP). She is an undergraduate student majoring in Economics and double minoring in Data Science and Education. Inspired by her experience growing up in the Dominican Republic, her main interests stand in the intersection between policy, education, and development.

Isamar Marte, '26

William J. Perry Conference Room (Encina Hall, 2nd floor, 616 Jane Stanford Way, Stanford)

Leopoldo López
Lectures
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Venezuela: Cultivating Democratic Resilience Against Authoritarianism

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Clifton B. Parker
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María Corina Machado, Venezuela’s popular democracy leader, told a Stanford audience that support from the global community and the U.S. is a moral imperative for those protesting Nicolás Maduro’s despotic government.

Machado engaged in a conversation on November 18 with Larry Diamond at an event hosted by the Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law. Diamond is the Mosbacher Senior Fellow in Global Democracy at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies. They discussed Venezuela’s current political climate, challenges, and broader strategies for fostering democratic transitions in authoritarian environments.

Maduro’s attempts at electoral fraud overshadowed Venezuela's presidential election on July 28, 2024. Afterward, the Venezuelan democratic movement provided evidence showing that their candidate, Edmundo González, had won with about 70% of the vote. Since then, the Maduro regime has stifled the opposition and thwarted democratic reforms as he seeks to regain office in January. Meanwhile, Machado has been forced into hiding to evade arrest by Maduro's regime but remains resolute in her decision to stay in Venezuela, where she continues to lead the movement.

In 2023, Machado won the Venezuelan opposition primaries with 93% of the vote. But the Maduro regime immediately, and illegally, disqualified her from running in the 2024 presidential election. She then took charge of revitalizing the country’s pro-democracy movement, rebuilding it from the ground up and infusing it with renewed purpose.

In introducing Machado, Kathryn Stoner, the Mosbacher Director of CDDRL, said, “Her leadership has been a beacon of hope for millions of Venezuelans as she continues to inspire them in the fight against authoritarianism.”

‘We surprised everyone’


Machado spoke about the election aftermath and a “window of opportunity” to act now to safeguard democracy. “The final outcome of this process is certainly existential for the Venezuelan people. It is critically strategic for the region and of great importance for all Western democracies, especially for the United States, and that's why we've received bipartisan support.”

María Corina Machado addresses a Stanford audience via video. Rod Searcey

Today, Venezuela ranks last on the World Justice Project’s Rule of Law index — 142 out of 142 countries. “Every single democratic institution has been devastated,” said Machado, describing the current situation as a “full-fledged tyranny” and adding that 8 million people have been forced to flee her country.

Despite such conditions, she said, in the past two years, Venezuelans have built up a democratic movement — “they told us it was impossible” — that reflects a deeper social response. “We decided to understand, to heal, and to trust each other.”

The regime underestimated the growth of this movement, she said. “We defeated the regime in the streets and in the hearts of Venezuelan people. We defeated them before in the spiritual dimension and then in the electoral process. And we've surprised everyone.”

They created a well-organized network of citizen volunteers who could be deployed in every single polling station and other places, all of whom were profoundly motivated around the cause, Machado said. “We did it without media at all,” since Maduro's government would not allow her to appear in traditional media channels and the campaign couldn't run ads on social media — there was no money.

Machado said, “We united a country around common values — human dignity, solidarity, justice, private property, and freedom. We united Venezuela around a profound desire: We wanted our kids back home; we wanted our families reunited.”

In the election, González won by a landslide, she said, roughly 70 percent to Maduro’s 30 percent. Immediately, the regime struck back, detaining and arresting thousands of pro-democracy advocates and even torturing some people.

“The reaction of the regime was ferocious,” she said. “We are facing a situation where the regime wants to create terror and totally paralyze this movement.”

But the Venezuelan pushback to the Maduro repression has been dramatic, she said. Machado estimates that if the election were held today, the pro-democracy candidate would get 90 percent of the vote.

“We have a united opposition, more than ever before,” she said, noting vows of support from the international community. January 10 is the day when Maduro would be sworn in again as president. “We will never give up, and I'm sure freedom will prevail in our country.”

We have a united opposition, more than ever before. We will never give up, and I'm sure freedom will prevail in our country.
María Corina Machado
Leader of Venezuela’s Democratic Movement


International action


“The challenge,” Diamond said, “is to get President Maduro, who has lost the election, to acknowledge that he's lost and leave power.” He asked Machado what the international community should do. (On November 19, a day after the CDDRL event, the U.S. formally recognized González as the president-elect.)

She responded, “We have to make these people understand that they will be held accountable. If they keep repressing our people, international justice should act immediately, and that hasn’t happened yet.”

On top of this, she added, Maduro’s ties to criminal activities and black markets need to be examined by international partners. Even the Venezuelan military largely supported the pro-democracy opposition.

“The (global) law enforcement approach can be more comprehensive, involving different agencies and different countries, so these individuals understand this regime is not sustainable from financial, political, and human perspectives,” she said.

Diamond asked if criminal indictments of members of the Maduro regime could be on the table, whether by the United States, European countries, or the International Criminal Court.

Machado acknowledged this point and recommended a few international strategies: Maduro has to be totally isolated, and González has to be recognized as the president-elect; a global law enforcement approach needs to crack down on Maduro’s criminal activities; the International Criminal Court needs to make a decision on the election; and every democratic government in the world needs to advocate for a negotiated transition for Venezuela to peacefully move ahead.

Democracies worldwide


During the Q&A portion of the event, a student audience member asked what the expatriate Venezuelan community should know and do about the situation.

Machado said, “One of our main assets now is this great diaspora that has turned Venezuela into a global cause. People are preparing abroad, learning, and getting ready to come back and build a great society.”

She added that her country’s abundant oil reserves could literally transform Venezuelan society if used wisely, unlike under Maduro’s tenure, and be used as a key element to fund the country's energy transition.

As Stoner noted in her opening remarks, “The struggle for democracy in Venezuela is not just a national issue — it's a global one. The fate of Venezuela speaks to the broader challenges that democracies are facing worldwide, including our own.”

María Corina Machado answers questions from students in a Q&A.
A student asks a question during the Q&A.
Students listen to María Corina Machado speak.
A student wearing a red and yellow hat with VENEZUELA embroidered on the back waits to ask María Corina Machado a question.

You can read more about this event in The Stanford Daily.

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A person cast a vote during the presidential elections at Escuela Ecológica Bolivariana Simón Rodríguez on July 28, 2024 in Fuerte Tiuna, Caracas, Venezuela.
Commentary

Exploring the Implications of Venezuela’s 2024 Presidential Election with Héctor Fuentes

Fuentes, a lawyer, human rights advocate, and agent of social change in Venezuela, is a member of the 2024 class of Fisher Family Summer Fellows at the Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law.
Exploring the Implications of Venezuela’s 2024 Presidential Election with Héctor Fuentes
Kathryn Stoner and Leopoldo López
News

Venezuelan opposition leader calls on students to fight for global freedom

Leopoldo López expressed fear about the global rise of a “network of autocracies." He encouraged Stanford students to champion democracy and freedom across the globe.
Venezuelan opposition leader calls on students to fight for global freedom
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María Corina Machado, the leader of the Venezuelan pro-democracy movement, suggests that a strong international response to Venezuelan authoritarianism will help overcome electoral fraud against democracy in her country.

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Defying the (Autocratic) Odds: A Conversation with María Corina Machado, Leader of Venezuela’s Democratic Movement

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Maria Machado event

This past summer, Venezuela's presidential election was overshadowed by Nicolás Maduro's attempt at large-scale electoral fraud. Despite these efforts, the Venezuelan democratic movement successfully provided evidence showing that their candidate, Edmundo González Urrutia, had won with nearly 70% of the vote. In response, the Maduro regime has escalated its repression of opposition leaders and advocates of democratic reforms, deepening political tensions and raising serious concerns about the country's democratic future.

On Monday, November 18, the Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law is honored to host María Corina Machado, the leader of the Venezuelan pro-democracy movement and the main architect of the July 28 electoral victory, for a video address to the Stanford community sharing her experiences and perspectives on sustaining democratic resilience in the face of authoritarianism. The conversation will be moderated by Larry Diamond, the Mosbacher Senior Fellow in Global Democracy at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies (FSI). Together, they will explore Venezuela’s current political challenges, the critical role of civic engagement, and strategies for fostering democratic transitions in restrictive environments.

The event will conclude with an interactive Q&A session, allowing students, faculty, and the greater Stanford community to engage directly with Ms. Machado and gain deeper insights into her experiences.

This event is co-sponsored by the Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law (CDDRL) and the Neukom Center for the Rule of Law.

speakers

María Carina Machado

María Corina Machado

Leader of the Democratic Movement in Venezuela

María Corina Machado is the leading figure of the Venezuelan democratic movement and was the central architect of the historic victory of Edmundo González in the July 28th, 2024, presidential election. Her leadership and vision unified Venezuela's pro-democracy forces during a pivotal moment in the country's history.

Machado won the Venezuelan opposition primaries on October 22nd, 2023, with an overwhelming 92.35% of the vote. Despite her landslide victory, she was illegally disqualified from running by the regime in a blatant move to undermine the democratic process. Undeterred, she continues to lead the fight for freedom and democracy in Venezuela, inspiring millions to stand up against authoritarianism.

Her tireless work in the face of adversity has made her a symbol of hope and resistance for Venezuelans and a crucial voice in the global conversation on democracy and human rights.

Machado holds a degree in Industrial Engineering from the Universidad Católica Andrés Bello (UCAB) and a specialization in Finance from the Instituto de Estudios Superiores de Administración (IESA). She has also taught Human Resources Management in the Industrial Engineering Department at UCAB. In 2009, she participated in the prestigious World Fellows Program at Yale University. She is the recipient of the 2024 Sakharov Prize, presented by the European Parliament, and the 2024 Václav Havel Human Rights Prize, presented by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) in Strasbourg.

Machado is also the founder and national coordinator of the political movement Vente Venezuela and co-founder of the Venezuelan civil association Súmate.

Professor Larry Diamond

Larry Diamond

Mosbacher Senior Fellow in Global Democracy at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies (FSI)

Larry Diamond is William L. Clayton Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, Mosbacher Senior Fellow in Global Democracy at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies (FSI), and a Bass University Fellow in Undergraduate Education at Stanford University. His research focuses on global trends affecting freedom and democracy, and U.S. and international policies to advance democracy and counter authoritarian influence. He was the founding coeditor of the Journal of Democracy and he remains a consultant to the National Endowment for Democracy. Among his books is Ill Winds: Saving Democracy from Russian Rage, Chinese Ambition, and American Complacency.

Larry Diamond
Larry Diamond

Hauck Auditorium
David and Joan Traitel Building, Hoover Institution (435 Lasuen Mall, Stanford)

María Corina Machado
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Héctor Fuentes

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Héctor Fuentes is a Visiting Scholar at Stanford’s Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law (2024-25). His research focuses on the critical juncture of the 2024 Venezuelan elections, exploring the dynamics that led to this semi-competitive election, analyzing the strategic successes of the opposition, and identifying windows of opportunity for fostering a transition to democracy in Venezuela. As the Director of EstadoLab, he has co-authored influential pieces on state fragility and democracy in Venezuela, as well as on state fragility across South America.

Héctor holds a Master of Global Affairs from Tsinghua University, where he was a Schwarzman Scholar, and a Master of Public Policy from the University of Oxford, supported by a Chevening Scholarship. His legal training was completed at the Central University of Venezuela, where he graduated as valedictorian. Throughout his career, Héctor has built extensive expertise in institutional capacity building, rule of law strengthening, and natural resource governance.

In addition to his research and academic work, Héctor has been actively involved in democracy promotion efforts in Venezuela. He co-founded EstadoLab, leading national campaigns that reached millions of young people and supported their participation in pro-democracy initiatives. He has also worked on various international projects aimed at rebuilding state capacity and promoting justice reform.

CDDRL Visiting Scholar, 2024-25
Fisher Family Summer Fellow, 2024
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Exploring the Implications of Venezuela’s 2024 Presidential Election with Héctor Fuentes

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Sidney Suh
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After more than a decade of authoritarian rule under President Nicholás Maduro, the Venezuelan elections on July 28, 2024, were domestically and internationally regarded as a potential turning point in the country’s history. Within Venezuela’s borders, hyperinflation has gripped the economy due to poor governance, rampant corruption, and Venezuela’s excessive dependence on oil exports — descending the country into political and economic chaos. Since 2014, more than 7 million people have fled the country in a mass emigration crisis. Experts estimate that an additional 18-25% of the population is considering fleeing if Maduro remains president, putting neighboring Latin American countries and the United States at risk of destabilization as border pressures increase.

Héctor Fuentes

Héctor Fuentes, a member of the 2024 class of Fisher Family Summer Fellows at the Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law (CDDRL), is a lawyer, human rights advocate, and agent of social change in Venezuela, dedicated to bottom-up national transformation. He serves as the executive director of EstadoLab, a think-and-do tank focused on state fragility and the reconstruction of democratic governance. In a conversation earlier this week with Michael McFaul, Director of Stanford’s Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies (FSI), Fuentes explained, “People are not leaving because the situation is bad, they’re leaving because they don’t see a future for their children.”

Although opposition leader Maria Corina Machado was banned from the presidential ballot, her endorsed substitute, Edmundo González, ran and received popular support from the public. Fuentes posits that the Maduro administration needed to give its base the illusion of legitimacy through the most recent elections, although this did not preclude widespread electoral irregularities. From delaying voting in centers where the opposition was grouped to forcefully recollecting boxes containing paper voting records, evidence has emerged of falsified results. After counting 80% of the ballots, the National Electoral Council (CNE) declared Maduro the winner with 51.2% of the votes compared to González’s 44.2%. However, independent research polls conducted in Venezuela containing over 7,000 responses from 100 centers certify that González won by a landslide majority.

How can Venezuela move forward?


Going forward, Fuentes argues that the key to revitalizing the health of Venezuelan democracy is normalizing economic and political ties to global actors. From an international standpoint, measures such as international condemnation of Maduro’s falsification of election results, strategic and massive sanctions, extending a “golden bridge” to Maduro’s administration, vigilance regarding human rights violations, and providing humanitarian aid to Venezuela will be essential.

Despite the government-controlled election authority’s refusal to release detailed results from the election, Fuentes echoes a rousing call that Machado often shares with her followers that has fueled his fight for another day: “Believe in your people.”

Further Commentary


Fuentes also sat down for an interview with Francis Fukuyama, the Olivier Nomellini Senior Fellow at FSI, to discuss why there is strong reason to believe this result was fraudulent. You can watch the interview below and read more in the Frankly Fukuyama column in Persuasion.

2022 Summer Fellow Jesús Armas, a Venezuelan activist and organizer of the María Corina Machado campaign in Caracas, also shared his reflections in this op-ed and with The Washington Post (here and here).

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Fisher Family Summer Fellows Class of 2024
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Announcing the 2024 Cohort of the Fisher Family Summer Fellows on Democracy and Development Program

In July 2024, the Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law will welcome a diverse cohort of 26 experienced practitioners from 21 countries who are working to advance democratic practices and economic and legal reform in contexts where freedom, human development, and good governance are fragile or at risk.
Announcing the 2024 Cohort of the Fisher Family Summer Fellows on Democracy and Development Program
Kathryn Stoner and Leopoldo López
News

Venezuelan opposition leader calls on students to fight for global freedom

Leopoldo López expressed fear about the global rise of a “network of autocracies." He encouraged Stanford students to champion democracy and freedom across the globe.
Venezuelan opposition leader calls on students to fight for global freedom
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Fuentes, a lawyer, human rights advocate, and agent of social change in Venezuela, is a member of the 2024 class of Fisher Family Summer Fellows at the Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law.

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Diego A. Zambrano

Room N346, Neukom Building
555 Nathan Abbott Way
Stanford, CA 94305

650.721.7681
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Associate Professor of Law, Stanford Law School
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Diego A. Zambrano’s primary research and teaching interests lie in the areas of civil procedure, transnational litigation, and judicial federalism. His work explores the civil litigation landscape: the institutions, norms, and incentives that influence litigant and judicial behavior. Professor Zambrano also has an interest in comparative constitutional law and legal developments related to Venezuela. He currently leads an innovative Stanford Policy Lab tracking “Global Judicial Reforms” and has served as an advisor to pro-democracy political parties in Venezuela. In 2021, Professor Zambrano received the Barbara Allen Babcock Award for Excellence in Teaching.

Professor Zambrano’s scholarship has appeared or is forthcoming at the Columbia Law Review, University of Chicago Law Review, Michigan Law Review, Northwestern University Law Review, Stanford Law Review, and Virginia Law Review, among other journals, and has been honored by the American Association of Law Schools (AALS) and the National Civil Justice Institute. Professor Zambrano will be a co-author of the leading casebook Civil Procedure: A Modern Approach (8th ed. 2024) (with Marcus, Pfander, and Redish). In addition, Professor Zambrano serves as the current chair of the Federal Courts Section of the AALS. He also writes about legal issues for broader public audiences, with his contributions appearing in the Wall Street Journal, BBC News, and Lawfare.

After graduating with honors from Harvard Law School in 2013, Professor Zambrano spent three years as an associate at Cleary Gottlieb in New York, focusing on transnational litigation and arbitration. Before joining Stanford Law School in 2018, Professor Zambrano was a Bigelow Teaching Fellow at the University of Chicago Law School.

CDDRL Affiliated Faculty

Maduro’s Menagerie: Twitter Client Usage in a Venezuelan Twitter Operation

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On December 2, 2021, Twitter announced that it had suspended a network of accounts that engaged in a political spam operation in support of the Venezuelan government. According to Twitter’s attribution language, real people were encouraged to engage in spammy behaviors to show their support for Nicolás Maduro and his political party. According to Twitter, financial compensation may have been offered to accounts for sufficient engagement in bolstering Maduro’s messaging. Our assessment of the accounts shared suggested that the set may be more accurately characterized as four or five distinct groups linked to each other only by mentions of common public figures or popular hashtags and by behavior that violates similar parts of Twitter’s policies. The network included accounts that reported locations in Venezuela, Colombia and Mexico, and engaged in automated tweeting behavior through the use of bots and feeds. The three regional groups were distinct and tweeted about different topics. In our assessment, we could not verify that these accounts were directly linked to tweet-for-hire schemes, although the Venezuelan accounts used behaviors described in prior reporting on this tactic. Other accounts in the network shared behavior similar to more commercial tweet-for-hire schemes: they promoted a mix of commercial brands and political hashtags. The accounts that reported their location as Mexico specifically engaged in behavior that amplified support for regional Mexican politicians. Shortly before the network was suspended, a small cluster of new accounts accounts furiously tweeted for the release of Alex Saab, a close ally of the Venezuelan president who was recently extradited from Cape Verde and is currently awaiting trial in Miami on charges of money laundering.

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Noah Schechter

Robert G. Wesson Lecture with Leopoldo López: Facing Autocracy, a Global Challenge

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Robert G. Wesson Lecture Series in International Relations Theory and Practice

As a Venezuelan, Leopoldo López lived through the gradual deterioration of what was once a regional reference for democracy into an authoritarian regime that has created the worst humanitarian and migration crisis in the Western Hemisphere. Venezuela is a clear example of how democracy could lose the battle against autocracy.

Unfortunately, the fight for freedom is no longer an issue to be solved only among Venezuelans. In fact, our conflict has become, like many others around the world, part of the global conflict between autocracy and democracy.

Autocracy in its different forms is spreading and constitutes a diverse but articulated movement around the world. To face this situation, new forms of organizations and democratic leadership must be promoted and empowered as an effective way to revert this new wave of autocracies. It is essential to create a synergy between effective local leadership, a comprehensive narrative and the use of new technologies that set up a range of possibilities to promote freedom.

The Wesson Lectureship was established at Stanford by the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies in 1989. It provides support for a public address at the university by a prominent scholar or practicing professional in the field of international relations. The series is made possible by a gift from the late Robert G. Wesson, a scholar of international affairs, prolific author, and senior research fellow at the Hoover Institution.

In establishing the series, Dr. Wesson stated his hope that the lectures would stimulate increased commitment to the study of international relations in a context that would enable students to understand the importance of developing practical policies within a theoretical and analytical framework. Previous Wesson Lecturers have included such distinguished speakers as McGeorge Bundy, Willi DeClerq, Condoleezza Rice, Mikhail Gorbachev, Fernando Henrique Cardoso, and Mary Robinson.
 

ABOUT THE SPEAKER

Leopoldo Lopez
Leopoldo López is a Venezuelan political leader, pro-democracy activist and Sakharov prize laureate. He is the founder and national coordinator of the Voluntad Popular political party.

López received a Bachelor's degree cum laude in sociology and economics from Kenyon College, and a Master´s degree in public policy from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. He was awarded a honoris causa doctorate in Law from Kenyon College in 2007.

Leopoldo López was elected mayor of the municipality of Chacao in Caracas in 2000 and he finished his second term with a 92% approval rate. He also won third place at the World Mayor Awards and the 2007 and 2008 “Premio Transparencia”, awarded by Transparency International.

In 2014 he was unjustly detained by the Maduro regime and was sentenced to 14 years of imprisonment. He spent four years in a military prison, a year and a half in house arrest and another year and a half in the Spanish embassy in Caracas under political asylum. He was recognized by Amnesty International as a prisoner of conscience. Also, in 2015 his detention was declared arbitrary by the UN.

In October 2020, López escaped from Venezuela through Colombia to join his family in Spain. It was the first time in seven years that he was able to be with his family in freedom. In his exile, López continues his fight for Venezuela´s democracy and freedom.

López has received several international awards for his fight for democracy and freedom in Venezuela. Among them, he was honored with the 2014 Harvard alumni achievement award, the NED´S 2013 Democracy Award, the 2016 Geneva Summit Courage Award and the 2017 Sakharov Prize for Freedom and Thought.

Hybrid event: Online via Zoom, and in-person in Bechtel Conference Center

Leopoldo López Freedom Activist from Venezuela
Lectures
Robert G. Wesson Lecture Series in International Relations Theory and Practice
Date Label
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