Francisco José Virtuoso SJ, Rector of Venezuela’s Universidad Católica Andrés Bello (UCAB) visited ESADE yesterday to analyse the state of Higher Education in Venezuela’s present dire straits. The country’s hyperinflation and political instability are making it hard for universities to keep up their academic activities, social programmes and scholarship funds. In UCAB’s case, such programmes and scholarships fund over 30% of the university’s students, whether in whole or in part.

Virtuoso’s talk (in which he was accompanied by the UCAB’s Administrative Vice-Rector, Gustavo García) formed part of a visit made to various Jesuit universities in the UNIJES network in Madrid, Barcelona, Seville, and Bilbao.

During the event at ESADE, a Manifesto by the Jesuit Universities was read expressing solidarity with the Venezuelan People and UCAB. It was signed by UNIJES authorities, the rectors of Deusto, Comillas, and Loyola universities, the Director-Generals of ESADE, IQS, HTSI, and ITF, and by the Rector of Facultad de Teología de Granada (an independent university theological institution run by The Society of Jesus).