On Wednesday, September 9, at 4:30pm, the Buckley Institute is pleased to host a discussion titled, "How Did Venezuela Run Out of Beer? What Latin America Teaches Us About Socialism,” featuring Southern Methodist University’s Robert Lawson, the Cato Institute’s Ian Vásquez, and the Manhattan Institute’s Daniel Di Martino.
As socialist ideas have started to regain popularity in the United States, Latin America offers a sobering reminder of the consequences of concentrating economic and political power. Venezuela's collapse—including beer shortages—and reform efforts across the region provide compelling lessons about the relationship between liberty, institutions, and human flourishing.
Join the Buckley Institute for this expert panel on what Latin America's successes and failures can teach us about freedom, prosperity, and the future of the Americas.
This event is made possible by the Terry M. Holcombe Memorial Fund.
Robert Lawson is a Clinical Professor, the Jerome M. Fullinwider Centennial Chair in Economic Freedom, and director of the Bridwell Institute for Economic Freedom at Southern Methodist University. Dr. Lawson is also the founding co-author of the Fraser Institute's Economic Freedom of the World annual report, which presents an economic freedom index for over 160 countries. With Benjamin Powell, he is co-author of the book Socialism Sucks: Two Economists Drink Their Way Through the Unfree World (Regnery Publishing). Dr. Lawson is the past-president of the Association of Private Enterprise Education, a Senior Fellow at the Fraser Institute, and a member of the Mont Pèlerin Society. He earned his PhD and MS in economics from Florida State University and his BS in economics from Ohio University.
Ian Vásquez is vice president for international studies at the Cato Institute, where he holds the David Boaz Chair and is director of the Center for Global Liberty and Prosperity. He is a weekly columnist at El Comercio (Peru), and his articles have appeared in newspapers throughout the United States and Latin America. He is the co-author of the Human Freedom Index, editor of Global Fortune: The Stumble and Rise of World Capitalism (Cato Institute), and co-editor of Perpetuating Poverty: The World Bank, the IMF, and the Developing World (Cato Institute). Mr. Vásquez has been a term member of the Council on Foreign Relations and is a member of the Mont Pelerin Society. He received his bachelor's degree from Northwestern University and his master's degree from the School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University.
Daniel Di Martino is a fellow at the Manhattan Institute, where his research focuses on immigration, selection, assimilation, and highly-skilled immigration. Di Martino has appeared on Fox News and CNN, and written for USA Today, National Review, City Journal, New York Post, and others. He is a regular speaker on college campuses and events across the country. He sits on the board of advisors of Young America's Foundation's Center for Entrepreneurship and Free Enterprise, and he is a member of the New Jersey State Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. Di Martino was born and raised in Venezuela. He arrived in the U.S. in 2016 committed to explaining how socialism destroyed his homeland. Di Martino earned his PhD in economics from Columbia University.
