Leobardo Perez-Rivas Leobardo Leo Perez-Rivas passed away on February 8, 2021, at age 78. He was born near the Andes in a little village called Pueblo Nuevo in the state of Merida, Venezuela, on September 12, 1942. His life was cut short while living in Seville, Spain, when he became ill from COVID-19. Leo was the third of 10 children. He was raised in Venezuela and attended Liceo Libertador school before completing a degree in economics at the University of the Andes in 1965. He was then awarded a grant to travel and study in England. He completed a master’s degree in economics at the University of Exeter and a second master’s degree at the University of Cambridge.