David Smilde is the Charles A and Leo M Favrot Professor of Human Relations at Tulane University and Senior Fellow at the Washington Office on Latin America. He is the outgoing Editor-in-Chief of Qualitative Sociology and curator of the blog Venezuelan Politics and Human Rights. Smilde has published three books and 30 academic articles and chapters on Venezuela, and has written op-eds on Venezuela for the New York Times, Washington Post and US News & World Report.