IPED Lecture: “Venezuela—How Democracy was Used to Destroy Democracy”

David Smolansky, deputy director of the ConVzla Presidential Campaign, shares insights on the state of democracy in Venezuela. Smolansky is a Venezuelan politician and democracy activist representing opposition leader María Corina Machado and President-Elect Edmundo González in Washington, D.C. Formerly mayor of El Hatillo in Caracas, he earned international recognition for transparency and crime reduction before being persecuted by Nicolás Maduro’s regime, which issued an arrest warrant, removed him from office, and forced him into exile. Appointed by the OAS Secretary General as Special Envoy for the Venezuelan migration crisis, he led advocacy across the Americas, authoring 15 reports on migrant protection and integration. Smolansky holds a BA in Journalism from Universidad Católica Andrés Bello and a Master’s in international public policy from Johns Hopkins University, with additional fellowships at Georgetown and Stanford. His case has been cited by the OAS, UN, and ICC in reports on crimes against humanity in Venezuela.