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ISA Supports ALAS Statement on Academic Freedom in Venezuela
The International Sociological Association (ISA) endorses the statement issued by the Latin American Sociological Association (ALAS) in defense of academic freedom and in solidarity with scholars and institutions facing criminalization in Venezuela.
To ensure accessibility for our global membership, the original Spanish text has been translated into English and is reproduced below. The original statement in Spanish is also available as a PDF at the bottom of this page and on the ALAS webpage [here].
Statement of the Latin American Sociological Association (ALAS)
Translated by the ISA.
Defense of Academic Freedom Against the Criminalization of Sociologists and Critical Institutions in Venezuela
The Latin American Sociological Association (ALAS) strongly rejects the recent accusations disseminated by the Venezuelan government, which baselessly target prominent academics and sociologists —Edgardo Lander, Emiliano Terán Mantovani, Alexandra Martínez, Francisco Javier Velasco, and Santiago Arconada— as well as key organizations of Latin American critical thought, portraying them as part of an alleged “network of political interference against the Venezuelan State disguised as academic and environmental activities.” Edgardo Lander, in particular, is one of the main references of contemporary Latin American sociology, with an irreproachable trajectory.
We firmly repudiate this defamation campaign. The narrative promoted by official media seeks to delegitimize critical thought and independent research, distorting the committed work carried out by these academics and institutions, especially regarding the Orinoco Mining Arc and the ecological crisis in Venezuela.
We support and express our solidarity with institutions such as the Faculty of Economic and Social Sciences of the Central University of Venezuela, the Center of Development Studies (CENDES) of the University of Venezuela, and the Political Ecology Observatory of Venezuela, for the threats they have received. Their work, widely recognized by our community, is key to critical Latin American sociological analysis and to the defense of environmental and territorial rights. Accusing their work of being part of a foreign intervention strategy is not only a falsehood, but also an attack on research autonomy and the right to dissent. These actions are part of a broader repressive escalation that is also reflected in the persecution of members of progressive and leftist movements, as seen in recent days with the detention of human rights activist Martha Lía Grajales, recently released under precautionary measures.
We observe with concern how attempts at censorship, surveillance, criminalization, and cooptation of sociological work —and of those who carry it out with commitment and public vocation— are multiplying in our region. Direct political attacks against universities, interference in curricula, persecution of dissenting voices, censorship, epistemic violence, and defunding are among the different forms of aggression that today threaten sociology and sociologists in several Latin American and Caribbean countries.
From ALAS, we express our full solidarity with the academics and activists who are being targeted in Venezuela and with many others who, in different countries, face threats and persecution for engaging in critical and committed thought. We call upon the regional and international academic community to remain steadfast in the face of this offensive by defending academic freedom, university autonomy, and the right to think critically, without fear or censorship.
ALAS Executive Committee, August 14, 2025