Lizarralde's academic work started in the Comparative Literature doctoral program at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. Before that, he studied Politics and Literary Theory at Hampshire College. While at UMass, he taught undergraduate courses and co-founded technē group, a publisher and organizer of academic conferences. He went on to have a twenty-five career starting companies in media, technology, and education in Latin America, the United States, and Spain. Lizarralde's writing focuses on the long-term structures of Latin American history and their influence on the region's current events. His Venezuela's Collapse: The Long Story of How Things Fell Apart, is a historical essay tracing the long-term economic, political, and demographic trends delivering a perfect storm at the beginning of the 21st century.
