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Academic Freedom and Democratic Backsliding

• jruohonen 3y ago
  "Selective withholding of resources is another technique. When Hugo Chavez took over Venezuela, he channeled government funds into new institutions of higher education associated with his movement, starving the traditional institutions of resources. The Organic Law on Education of 2009 called for a socialist ethic in university curricula and defined university autonomy in Orwellian terms: 'the subordination of training programs and research to the plans of the National Executive Power and the priority needs of the country'. A recent report found many retired faculty of these institutions to be suffering from malnutrition and poverty. The humanitarian crisis has triggered an exodus of scholars."