Indigenous Identity in Latin America

Abstract:

Today, nearly 9% of people in Latin America identify as Indigenous, ranging from 2% in Argentina to 30% in Guatemala with high within-country variation. Levels of Indigenous self-identification have also increased in the last decades in the region. Using a multi-method approach that combines surveys, archival research, text analysis, and machine learning, I study how different institutional frameworks have shaped the persistence of language, Indigenous last-names, and local governance from the colonial times to the 21st century. I also provide a novel theoretical framework to understand Indigenous agency and their capacity to resist, survive and adapt to colonial rule.

 

Speaker Bio:

I am

a PhD candidate in Political Science at Stanford University with an interest in the political economy of development and comparative politics. I was born and raised in Mexico City where I also attended college at ITAM, majoring in Economics and Political Science. After graduating college, I worked for two years at a policy think-tank in Mexico City. Before starting the PhD I completed a masters at Stanford in educational policy and public policy.