Inside Venezuela’s Struggle for Democracy: A Conversation with Paola Bautista de Alemán

Venezuelan journalist and political activist Paola Bautista de Alemán joins Adriana Albanus, PhD student in Political Science and Kellogg Doctoral Student Affiliate, for a conversation on Venezuela’s long fight for freedom and democratic renewal. Drawing on her work as director of FORMA, Bautista de Alemán reflects on how democratic values are sustained under authoritarian pressure. The episode also examines the international aftermath of the recent U.S. operation that captured Nicolás Maduro and the competing debates it triggered and what external pressure can (and can’t) achieve for a democratic transition.

 

In this episode of Global Stage, Venezuelan journalist, political activist, and Kellogg’s current Hewlett Visiting Fellow for Public Policy Paola Bautista de Alemán joins Kellogg Doctoral Affiliate Adriana Albanus for a wide-ranging conversation on Venezuela’s uncertain political transition and the broader lessons of democratic resilience. 

Reflecting on the dramatic political changes following the removal of Nicolás Maduro, Bautista de Alemán describes the current moment as a fragile but meaningful opportunity. While the dictator may be out of power, she cautions that the structures of dictatorship remain. She outlines a complex, non-linear path forward – one that includes stabilization, recovery of civil and political rights, and an eventual democratic transition grounded in free and fair elections.

Drawing on her research at the Kellogg Institute, Bautista de Alemán explores the concept of political resilience in contexts of democratic backsliding and authoritarian consolidation. She argues that the tools available to democratic actors depend heavily on the strength of institutions. In Venezuela’s case, where institutional safeguards had eroded, resistance relied on civil society, political parties, and grassroots mobilization. Recent developments – including the release of political prisoners and signs of diplomatic and economic reopening – offer cautious optimism, even as repression and risk persist.

The conversation also examines the role of international actors, particularly the United States, in Venezuela’s transition. Bautista de Alemán reflects on the controversial yet consequential involvement of the Trump administration and raises difficult questions about the broader democratic world’s failure to respond more effectively to Venezuela’s long democratic decline. She calls on the international community not only to monitor ongoing human rights conditions but also to learn from Venezuela’s experience in order to prevent similar crises elsewhere.

Finally, Bautista de Alemán shares personal reflections on activism, exile, and hope. She traces Venezuela’s democratic erosion to a gradual loss of public faith in democratic institutions – an early warning sign she believes other democracies should heed. As founder of the Institute for Political Studies (FORMA), she underscores the essential role of civic education in authoritarian contexts – not merely as instruction, but as the creation of communities where trust, dialogue, and democratic practice can survive. For Bautista de Alemán, the struggle for democracy is ultimately rooted in love of country and the conviction that political change is both possible and necessary.

 

Learn more about Paola Bautista de Alemán.

Learn more about FORMA.

Learn more about the Kellogg Institute.