On November 3, 2025, UD Young Americans for Freedom hosted Daniel Di Martino, a Venezuelan immigrant, nationally recognized economist and devout Catholic. Di Martino spoke to a full SB Multipurpose Room on the dangers of the socialist ideology which destroyed his homeland. His event was titled “The Catholic Case for Capitalism.”
He began by recounting his own family’s history: Di Martino’s grandfather immigrated from Spain to Venezuela in the 1950s, and, in his letters home, described the country as rich and prosperous, “the sky with many lights.” However, by the time Di Martino was a teenager, Venezuelans were waiting in line for hours to access basic necessities such as food, medicine or gasoline. Inflation was so high that Di Martino can recall spending a wad of hundred-bolívar bills on a movie ticket. Despite Venezuela’s abundant natural resources, poverty and death resulting from preventable diseases claimed – and still claim — countless lives. The Venezuelan refugee crisis is the largest in the world, with 7.7 million people leaving the country since 2014.
Di Martino first addressed the common misconception that socialism is good in theory. This idea is contrary to the teaching of the Catholic Church: Pope Leo XIII’s encyclical Quod Apostolici Muneris calls socialism “a sect of evil,” which manipulates the Gospel by a distorted appeal to solidarity. All people are equal in dignity, but socialism attempts to level society by restricting unique talents and abilities. Di Martino said: “The origin of socialism is sin because the origin of socialism is envy.”
Di Martino also addressed Pope Leo XIII’s encyclical Rerum Novarum, which calls the right to private property “sacred and inviolable.” In this vein, Di Martino called socialism an inherent evil against human nature and God’s creation. Furthermore, he argued that socialism is contrary to charity. Socialism is what Di Martino calls a “luxury belief,” a belief held out of a sense of convenience to oneself that requires no personal sacrifice. Di Martino said: “It is not virtuous to give more money to the government to give to the poor.”
Finally, Di Martino stated that socialism is inimical to the Catholic principle of subsidiarity. He said: “Authority should rest closest to the people.”
“This is about human nature and incentives,” said Di Martino. If people are deprived of their right to provide for themselves and their families through their labor, they will lose the will to produce goods and services and thus contribute to a more prosperous society.
Di Martino pointed to the disastrous results of socialism across the globe, citing Pope John Paul II in the encyclical Centesimus Annus. Then, Di Martino pointed to the currently socialized industries in the United States: The United States Postal System and Amtrak railroads, both of which operate at multibillion-dollar annual losses, and the Indian Health Service, which yields the lowest life expectancy in the nation.
Finally, Di Martino addressed common misconceptions regarding the state of Venezuela. Many claim that Venezuela’s misery is due to corruption in government, falling oil prices or U.S. sanctions. Di Martino said: “Yes, it is a corrupt government, like almost the entire planet.” Further, Di Martino defended U.S. sanctions preventing the Maduro regime from doing business in America. “They’re evil criminals,” he said.
All in all, Di Martino’s talk came to the university at a crucial juncture in American history. On November 4, the day after Di Martino spoke at UD, New York City elected Zohran Mamdani, member of Democratic Socialists of America as mayor, with 50.4% of the vote.
75 students attended the event, and after the talk attendees were able to take photos with Di Martino.