Welcome

I am a professor in the Department of Political Studies at the Center for Research and Teaching in Economics (CIDE, Mexico), and an associate professor (on leave) in the Department of Political Science at San José State University. I was previously an assistant professor of political science at William Paterson University, NJ and at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. I have also been a visiting research fellow at the Center for Research and Teaching in Economics (CIDE, México), and at the Center for Inter-American Policy and Research at Tulane University. Here, you will find information about my research, the classes that I teach, and my media contributions and appearances.

My current research uses surveys and experiments to understand: (i) what are the determinants and consequences of affective and programmatic polarization, and (ii) why people support left-wing authoritarian populist leaders in developing democracies, with an emphasis on Latin America. In addition, I use statistics to study the relationship between domestic political institutions and economic policies and outcomes. Therefore, my research and teaching interests lie at the intersecion of comparative politics, political economy, and political behavior. My research outputs have appeared in peer-reviewed journals like Comparative Political Studies, R Journal, Party Politics, Journal of Elections, Public Opinion and Parties, Review of International Political Economy, International Political Science Review, and Economics of Governance, to name a few.