María José is a first year Ph.D. student in the Department of Politics, where she is specializing in International Relations and Comparative Politics, with a regional focus on Latin America. She is a Fulbright-García Robles scholar (2018-2021), and is originally from Mexico City, Mexico, where she completed her undergraduate degree in International Relations at the Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México (ITAM). She graduated from ITAM with highest honors, and was awarded the Alumni Research Award for her senior thesis.
María José has worked as a research assistant and a junior researcher for projects at ITAM, the Facultad Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales (FLACSO), and the Instituto Matías Romero. Her publications include the book "Los derechos humanos y la democracia en el sistema interamericano", co-authored with Natalia Saltalamacchia. Among her research interests are international law and institutions, the politics of human rights and transitional justice, democracy and multilateralism, and non-state actors in the international system.
Selected Publications
“Friendly Settlements in the Inter-American Human Rights System: Efficiency, Effectiveness and Scope”, co-authored with Natalia Saltalamacchia et. al., in The Inter-American Human Rights System: Impact Beyond Compliance, edited by Par Engstrom, United Kingdom, Palgrave Macmillan, 2018, 59-88.
Los derechos humanos y la democracia en el sistema interamericano, co-authored with Natalia Saltalamacchia, Mexico, Instituto Nacional Electoral, 2016. ISBN: 978-607-9218-57-7.
“La Alianza del Pacífico: mitos y realidades”, co-authored with Natalia Saltalamacchia, in Incidencias Regionales y Globales de la Alianza del Pacífico, edited by Stefan Jost and Eduardo Pastrana, Mexico, Gedisa-Fundación Konrad Adenauer, 2016, 101-124.
Selected Honors and Awards
Fulbright-García Robles Scholarship, 2018-2021
Premio de Investigación Ex ITAM (Alumni Research Award), ITAM, 2018
Mención honorífica (highest honors) for senior thesis, ITAM, 2017
Recognition award to the best undergraduate students in Mexico, Reforma (newspaper), 2015
Academic Excellence Scholarship, ITAM, 2012-2015