In this Institute of Economic Affairs interview, IEA Editorial Director Kristian Niemietz speaks with Jesús Armas, Venezuelan opposition activist and former IEA intern, about his imprisonment by the Maduro regime following the disputed July 2024 presidential election. Jesús describes being kidnapped by regime security forces, held in clandestine detention, subjected to torture, and kept in isolation for months, as well as the broader collapse of Venezuelan civil society under Chavismo.
The conversation examines how Venezuela descended from a state with at least nominal civil liberties into a full dictatorship, drawing parallels with Soviet-era show trials and Hayek’s Road to Serfdom. Jesús explains how the opposition won the 2024 election with 70% of the vote, collected the tallies to prove it, and were then systematically persecuted for doing so. He also discusses the current political situation under Delcy Rodriguez, the prospects for democratic transition, Venezuela’s economic collapse including salaries below $1 a month, the destruction of the oil industry through nationalisation, and why 9 million Venezuelans have fled the country.
The Institute of Economic Affairs is a registered educational charity. It does not endorse or give support for any political party in the UK or elsewhere. Our mission is to improve understanding of the fundamental institutions of a free society by analysing and expounding the role of markets in solving economic and social problems. The views represented here are those of the speakers alone, not those of the Institute, its Managing Trustees, Academic Advisory Council members or senior staff.
