Carla Troconis

Carla Troconis
2018 Undergraduate Fellow Government

Thesis title and description:
“El Pueblo Dividido Jamas Sera Vencido: An Examination of the Venezuelan Opposition and Its Connection to the Diaspora”

Since Hugo Chavez died in 2013, Venezuela has seen a quick economic decline paired with an even steeper descent into authoritarianism. As a response to current president Nicolas Maduro’s dictatorial overtures and massive financial blunders, the amount of Venezuelans immigrating to the United States has sharply increased. However, this recent wave of immigration joins a smaller, but just as significant, decades long diasporic wave of Venezuelans based in the United States. With many Venezuelans fleeing the country due to political persecution by Maduro, carried on from the oppressive policies in place during Chavez’s administration, the connection between this immigration and opposition movement participation is significant. Carla Troconis will be examining this connection in an attempt to zero in on the various divisions between the Venezuelan opposition as it exists within the diaspora and investigate why the opposition’s makeup and strategies has changed due to many of its participants attempting to create political change from the United States.