Dr. Tedesco Analyzes Recent Political Events in Venezuela

In light of recent events in Venezuela, SLU-Madrid political science professor and associate dean for humanities and social sciences Laura Tedesco, Ph.D., shared her expertise on contemporary politics, democracy and political leadership in Latin America in several recent publications.

In "Agenda Pública," a web page for political and economic editorials managed by El País, Tedesco published the article, “Venezuela necesita prudencia” in which she argues caution. While most political analysts are proclaiming that Venezuela is already in transition, Tedesco contends that there are too many unanswered questions and that the key is in the hands of the Armed Forces.

Tedesco and colleague Dr. Rut Diamint, professor of international relations at Universidad Torcuato Di Tella in Buenos Aires also published the article, “Nicolás Maduro, el usurpador” in "Open Democracy," the world's most widely circulated digital news platform for the exchange of political analyses.

After a research project on political leaders in five Latin American countries, Tedesco and Diamint built a typology of leaders which included the idea of the usurper. They were surprised to see Maduro recently described as a usurper by the president of the Asamblea Nacional of Venezuela. In their article, Tedesco and Diamint explain their typology of leaders and explore the case of Maduro as a power usurper.