Not That Castro: Cipriano Castro's Cabinet, 1902
It is December 1902 in Caracas, and the navy has just alerted President Cipriano Castro and his cabinet of the European armada encircling Venezuelan shores. While seizing vessels and bombarding coastal forts, a combined German, British, and Italian force has imposed a naval blockade with negligible resistance from the significantly smaller Venezuelan navy. These European powers are dissatisfied with Castro’s refusal to pay foreign debts and negotiate settlements for damages done to European citizens during the Liberating Revolution, an ongoing Venezuelan civil war that started in 1901.
Historically, Castro continually refused the payment request from European powers, trusting that the United States would cite the Monroe Doctrine to intervene. Eventually, this tactic worked and led to the U.S. adoption of the Roosevelt Corollary, but it also eroded what was left of Venezuela’s international relations. In this committee, delegates are tasked with resolving the blockade on their own terms while navigating rampant civil unrest in Venezuela. What’s worse, Castro’s authority remains under question as he recently rose to power in 1899. In accounting for the country’s disarray, delegates must navigate both domestic and international politics, possibly rewriting Venezuelan history to restore order within the country and rebuild diplomatic relations with the world.
Pietro Stabile
Chair
Pietro is a second-year at the College majoring in Computer Science (because he likes computer science) and Economics (because he likes being employed). He hails from Barrington, Illinois, a profoundly unremarkable suburb of Chicago.
Last year, Pietro served as an Assistant Chair for the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis at ChoMUN XXVII. He has also chaired the NATO committee at UChicago’s high school conference, where he thoroughly enjoyed the gavel’s power — don’t worry, he promises not to overdo it for ChoMUN.
Surprisingly, Pietro also has a life outside Model UN — he performs research for a lab at UChicago, does data analysis for the environmental sustainability club, is an avid film and digital photographer, and enjoys cooking Italian food to convince himself he is cultured. Pietro (figuratively) cannot wait to chair President Castro’s Cabinet, and he looks forward to the tenacity and creativity delegates will bring to the table.
Send your questions, concerns, and cat or dog pictures — but not both — to pietrostabile@uchicago.edu. Pietro never reads his emails, but he swears he’ll read yours.
Kelly liu
Crisis Director
Kelly is a second-year at UChicago majoring in Economics and Philosophy and minoring in Data Science. She is from Lincolnshire, Illinois (15.3 miles away from Pietro’s hometown and 452.9 miles away from Natalie’s), and went to the same high school as New York Knicks Point Guard Jalen Brunson.
In the MUNiverse, Kelly served as an Assistant Chair for the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis in ChoMUN XXVII, an Assistant Chair for the Ad Hoc Committee in MUNUC XXXVI (UChicago’s high school MUN conference), and Chair for the UNSC in MUNUC XXXVII.
Outside of MUN, Kelly is involved in the Private Equity Club, the student newspaper’s sales team, and UChicago’s Pi Beta Phi chapter. She also enjoys pickleball, the Spider-Verse trilogy, hiking, and all things volleyball. According to her Spotify daylists, the vibe she brings to the function is “scream divorced cozy standing on business coming of age y’allternative,” but she is excited to bring her vivacious, dynamic enthusiasm to this committee.
If you want to reach out to Kelly about anything from greater Chicagoland happenings to your answer to the sorites paradox, feel free to email her at kellyliu3@uchicago.edu.
Natalie Sauer
CRISIS DIRECTOR
Natalie is a second-year at UChicago majoring in Astrophysics and minoring in Visual Arts, for unknown reasons. She’s from Iron River, Wisconsin, a tiny town on the shores of Lake Superior that is most well known for being mistaken as the (slightly larger) Iron River, Michigan.
Within MUN, she served as an Assistant Chair for the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis in ChoMUN XXVII and as an Assistant Chair for the UNSC in MUNUC XXXVII (UChicago’s high school conference). Outside of MUN, Natalie is involved in various physics and astronomy clubs on campus, and can typically be found listening to The Strokes and complaining about her math problem sets to anyone who will listen. She also tutors high school students and works as a freelance artist in her spare time.
Natalie first bonded with Kelly and Pietro over their mutual hatred of Aristotle in Professor Ben Callard’s philosophy class and is excited to run this committee with them as they continue their pursuit of world domination.
Please reach out if you have any questions or concerns about the committee (especially if Pietro hasn’t responded to your emails) or if you’re in need of a killer blueberry-lemon muffin recipe at nsauer@uchicago.edu.
Secretariat oversight:
Ashley Cross, Under-secretary-general