Venezuelan activist and economist Daniel Di Martino is scheduled to speak at Franciscan University of Steubenville on November 12. Di Martino, who founded the Dissident Project, will address the dangers of socialism in America and share his personal experiences growing up in Venezuela.

The event, which is open to the public at no cost, will take place at 7:00 p.m. in the Tony and Nina Gentile Gallery located on the lower level of the J.C. Williams Center. After his presentation, Di Martino will participate in a question-and-answer session with attendees.

The student chapter of Young America’s Foundation (YAF) at Franciscan University is organizing the event. Anna Myron, president of the group and a senior majoring in history and political science from Butler, Pennsylvania, explained their decision to invite Di Martino: “This is going to be a very important talk for students and the public to hear more about why socialism never works. His talk will help us all understand why we need to work to ensure socialism never takes hold in America,” Myron said.

Di Martino currently serves as a fellow at the Manhattan Institute and is pursuing a PhD in economics at Columbia University. His research focuses on immigration issues such as selection, assimilation, and highly skilled migration. He left Venezuela for the United States in 2016 after experiencing what he describes as severe negative effects of socialism in his home country. Since then, he has worked to explain how socialism impacted Venezuela and advocates against its adoption elsewhere.

In addition to his academic work, Di Martino established the Dissident Project with the aim of educating high school students about socialist regimes.

A recording of his talk will be made available on the YAFtv YouTube Channel.