Research Areas

My research interests focus on understanding the social dimension of the ongoing energy transition in Mexico. Energy transition policies have been successfully promoting the investment in renewable energy projects, but they are facing strong social opposition, especially in indigenous communities. Thus, my research aims to undertake the process of coproduction across scales between the energy transition and agents in Mexico. To meet this objective, I will do the following: 1) Identify the mechanisms, processes, and key international and national actors involved in the process of diffusion and internalization of energy transition policies in Mexico; 2) Explore the influence that domestic actors and interest groups played in its process of institutionalization and the particular form that energy transition policies took at the national level; and 3) Analyze the impacts of implementation of these policies through renewable energy projects on local communities and the effects that domestic political process have had on projects implementation. This research will provide insights on the cross-scale influence of energy transition policies on actors, institutions, and practices; and the role that multilevel actors play shaping these policies; more succinctly, the process of mutual constitution between policies and actors across scales.

I obtained a bachelor degree in biology and a master degree in Management of Arid Zones Ecosystems, both in Mexico. During this period, my research focused on the governance of the protected areas in the Baja California peninsula. My interest was to understand the effects of conservation policy on local communities, and the role of models of natural resources management in the participation of civil society. Professionally, I worked for seven years at Environmental NGOs in Mexico where I collaborated in the designee of educative models for rural communities, elaboration of development projects, and assessment of environmental public policy. These experiences gave me the opportunity to see the relationships among the knowledge production, the policymaking process, and the daily life of people.