Experiences of Resistance to Democratic Erosion in Latin America: Memories from Venezuela

Verónica Zubillaga
Mellon Visiting Scholar, University of Illinois, Chicago
Professor, Universidad Simón Bolivar in Caracas
Former Kellogg Visiting Fellow

In this session of the Democracy in Dialogue Series, Verónica Zubillaga will share personal and collective lived experiences of resisting democratic erosion and advocating for human rights amid rising militarization and the rapid deepening of authoritarianism under the Nicolás Maduro Government in Venezuela.

Verónica Zubillaga is a Venezuelan sociologist. She is currently Mellon Visiting Professor at University of Illinois Chicago. She was a professor at Universidad Simón Bolívar in Caracas before having to leave her country. She specializes in urban violence, youth gangs, gender, and public policy in Latin America. She has combined academic research with public impact, co-founding the Red de Activismo e Investigación por la Convivencia (REACIN) and advocating for arms control, disarmament, and justice in cases of police violence in Venezuela. Her work includes numerous international fellowships and co-authored books such as The Paradox of Violence in Venezuela (2022) and La muerte nuestra de cada día (2021).