REPAL

The REPAL (Red para el Estudio de la Economía Política de América Latina) Conference gathers distinguished researchers affiliated with universities in Latin America, North America, and Europe, and who are interested in promoting and giving greater visibility to new studies in the political economy of Latin America. REPAL’s academic focus centers on advancing comprehension of development models, socio-political institutions, and practical challenges through empirically grounded research sensitive to context. Scholars associated with REPAL employ diverse methods to yield innovative descriptions, concept formation, causal inferences, and theoretical advancements challenging conventional wisdom in the region. Institutionally, REPAL is a network open to the research community and structured around the promotion of diverse, plural debate on the political economy of Latin America. 

The main sponsor of the Tenth Annual REPAL Conference is the Center for Latin American Studies (CLAS), Walsh School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University.  CLAS also currently serves as the institutional home for REPAL.  The two-day conference will take place on July 12 and 13, 2024.  This year’s Program Co-Chairs are Silvia Otero-Bahamon (Universidad del Rosario) and Brian Palmer-Rubin (University of Southern California).  

View the REPAL Conference Program here 

The program includes information on panelists and topics, locations, and times.

The two-day conference will be preceded by a Graduate Student Workshop, to be held on Thursday, July 11.  

Here is an interactive campus map of Georgetown University. Most REPAL events will take place in the Bunn InterCultural Center.

We hope the conference and the exchange it fosters will empower scholars whose work focuses on the political economy of the Latin American region to continue pursuing innovative research. 

 

Conference Schedule

Friday, July 12

CONFERENCE WELCOME

ICC Auditorium | 8:45 – 9:00 am

*Entrance on 3rd/Main Floor of ICC

—

SESSION 1A: 9:00 – 10:30 am

CHAIR: Kathy Hochstetler

ROOM: ICC 101

Paula Muñoz, Universidad del Pacifico & Veronica Herrera, University of California, Los Angeles

Waste Colonialism or Capitalizing on Comparative Advantages? The Political Economy of Plastic Waste Import Trade in Latin America

Beni Trojbicz, Universidade Federal dos Vales do Jequitinhonha e Mucuri, & Mariane Santos Françoso, Universidade Estadual Paulista

Local Content Policy in the Brazilian Oil Sector in the 21st century: Ideas, interests and social coalitions

Christopher Carter & Emily Warwick, University of Virginia

Does Patriotism Inspire Environmentalism? Evidence from Bolivia

—

CHAIR: Andrés Schipani

ROOM: ICC 103

Santiago Anria & Kenneth Roberts, Cornell University

Latin America’s “New” Polarization: A Multidimensional Approach

Verónica Hurtado Lozada, Yale University

Competing for Parties, Organizations, and Candidates: An analysis of the failure of the Peruvian Left-wing parties

Marta Arretche, Universidade de São Paulo; Rogerio Schlegel, Universidade Federal de São Paulo & Diogo Ferrari, University of California, Riverside

Retrospective voting, partisan affiliation, or economic calculation: Preferences of Brazilian voters on centralization

—

CHAIR: Alisha Holland

ROOM: ICC 105

Zach Elkins, University of Texas, Austin; & John Sides, Vanderbilt University

Citizenship Laws and Ethnic Group Incorporation

Natalia Garbiras-Díaz, Harvard University; Leopoldo Fergusson & Michael Weintraub, Universidad de Los Andes

Accents and Social Class

Irina España-Eljaiek, Universidad Nacional de Colombia

BOOK PANEL

Historic Racial Exclusion and Subnational Socio-economic Outcomes in Colombia: Equal but Different

Discussant: Aldo Madariaga

—

COFFEE BREAK
ICC 141 | 10:30 – 11:00 am

—

SESSION 1B: 11:00 am – 12:00 pm

CHAIR: Kathy Hochstetler
ROOM: ICC 101

Livio Silva-Müller, London School of Economics and Geneva Graduate Institute
Pathways of the Environmental State: Global Climate Politics in the Amazon Rainforest

Candelaria Garay, Cornell University & María Paula Saffon, Universidad Torcuato Di Tella
Land (In)Security, Indigenous Communities and Deforestation in Argentina

—

CHAIR: Andrés Schipani
ROOM: ICC 103

Rodrigo Barrenechea, Universidad Católica del Uruguay
The Challenger’s Dilemma: Pathways for Anti-Establishment Challengers in Latin America

Mario G. Schapiro & Elize Massard da Fonseca, Fundação Getulio Vargas

Carving Out Political Space Without Reputation Costs: The Brazilian Strategy of De-delegation

—

CHAIR: Lindsay Mayka
ROOM: ICC 105

Zoila Ponce de León, University of Pittsburgh & Gabriele Magni, Loyola Marymount University
“Here to Stay”: Immigration and Deportation Attitudes

Covadonga Meseguer, Marta Paradés, Universidad Pontificia Comillas; & Jesse Acevedo, University of Denver
National Identity and Affective Polarization Towards Foreigners in Mexico

—

LUNCH BREAK
ICC 141 | 12:00 – 1:00 pm

Aldo Madariaga, Eduardo Moncada, and Sara Niedzwiecki will hold an information session about the Palgrave-MacMillan Latin American book series!

Rachel Blaifeder will hold an information session for participants regarding the publishing process with Cambridge University Press.

—

SESSION 2A: 1:00 – 2:30 pm

CHAIR: Gustavo Flores-Macías

ROOM: ICC 101

Ayelén Vanegas, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
From Personal Transfers to Social Investment: Understanding Citizens’ Demands

Inés Fynn, Universidad Católica del Uruguay

Unveiling Commitments of Silence: Reciprocity Networks and Criminal Organizations in Montevideo

Giancarlo Visconti, University of Maryland, Sofia Vera, University of Kansas & Miguel Carreras, University of California, Riverside
Migration and Punitive Responses to Criminal Violence

—

CHAIR: Eduardo Dargent
ROOM: ICC 103

Brian Palmer-Rubin, University of Southern California
The Fruits of Our Labor: Inclusive Upgrading in Mexican Agriculture

Isabel Güiza-Gómez, University of Notre Dame, & Laura García-Montoya, University of Toronto
Land Dispossession on Trial: Social Movements and Judges in the Colombian Land Restitution Program

Pilar Manzi, Northwestern University
Resistance to Taxation among Latin American Elites

—

CHAIR: Alison Post
ROOM: ICC 105

Néstor Castañeda, University College London, David Doyle, University of Oxford & Cassilde Schwartz, University of London
Fairness and public support for progressive taxation in highly unequal countries

Matias López, Geneva Graduate Institute, Graziella Moraes Silva, Geneva Graduate Institute & Chana Teeger, LSE
Comfortably unequal: perceptions of inequality and fear among elites in Brazil and South Africa

Camilo Nieto-Matiz, University of Texas at San Antonio
Land, political change, and the unintended consequences of property rights extension: evidence from Colombia

—

COFFEE BREAK
ICC 141 | 2:30 – 3:00 pm

—

SESSION 2B: 3:00 – 4:00 pm

CHAIR: Gustavo Flores-Macías

ROOM: ICC 101

Juan Pablo Luna, Universidad Católica de Chile
Organized crime, state crises, and the consolidation of violent democracies

Germán Feierherd, Universidad de San Andrés (UdeSA) & Guadalupe Tuñón, Princeton University
Partisan Bias Without Institutional Security: Evidence from Corruption Probes in the Argentine Judiciary

—

CHAIR: Eduardo Dargent
ROOM: ICC 103

Michael Albertus & Lautaro Cella, University of Chicago

Support for Pro-Indigenous Policies Amid Conflict

Maximiliano Véjares, Johns Hopkins University
Patrimonialism as Insurance: Landholding and Democracy in Chile

—

CHAIR: Alison Post
ROOM: ICC 105

Eduardo Moncada, Columbia University

Criminal Competition and Collective Political Mobilization in Mexico City

Santiago López-Cariboni, Irene Menéndez González, IE University, Cecilia Rossel, Universidad Católica Uruguay, & Florencia Antía, Universidad de la República (Uruguay)
The structure of preferences for conditional cash transfers: experimental evidence from Argentina, Chile and Uruguay

—

KEYNOTE ROUNDTABLE: “REPAL’s 10th Anniversary”

Alison Post, Ben Ross Schneider, and Juan Pablo Luna

CHAIR: Sara Niedzwiecki
ICC AUDITORIUM | 4:00 – 5:30 pm
*Entrance on 3rd/Main Floor of ICC

—

REPAL RECEPTION
ICC GALLERIA | 5:30 – 6:30 pm
*Entrance on 3rd/Main Floor of ICC

—

Saturday, July 13

SESSION 3A: 9:00 – 10:30 am

CHAIR: Paula Muñoz
ROOM: ICC 101

Nate Edenhofer, University of California Santa Cruz
Frustrating Metal Mining Expansion in Honduras: Territorial organizing, hegemony, and contradictions of the neoliberal mafia-state

Raul Pacheco-Vega, Facultad Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales
The comparative politics of informal waste picking: Studying garbage governance across two Mexican cities (León and Aguascalientes)

Alice Xu, University of Pennsylvania
Divided Landscapes: Mapping the Struggle for Environmental Coalitions in Urban Brazil

—

CHAIR: Brian Palmer-Rubin

ROOM: ICC 103

Julia Smith Coyoli, Harvard University
How Unions Drive Implementation: Educational Quality, Teachers’ Unions, and Subnational Politics in Mexico

Matias Alberto Gianonni, Tecnológico de Monterrey
Firm-Based Origins of Brazil’s Anti-System Politics

Christopher Chambers-Ju, University of Texas, Arlington
BOOK PANEL
Mobilizing Teachers: Education Politics and the New Labor Movement in Latin America
Discussants: Santiago Anria, Sara Niedzwiecki

—

CHAIR: Rebecca Weitz-Shapiro

ROOM: ICC 105

Carlos Scartascini & Andres Bariñas, Inter-American Development Bank
Politicians’ Corruption and Citizens’ Willingness to Punish under Economic Shocks: A Lab Experiment

Carla Alberti, Diego Díaz-Rioseco, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, & Giancarlo Visconti, Pennsylvania State University
Gender, crime, and political accountability: Evidence from local governments in Chile

Gabriel Puron-Cid, Centro de Investigación y Docencia Económicas, & Heidi Smith, Universidad Iberoamericana
Financial Condition in the Context of Corruption: The Case of Local Governments in Mexico

—

COFFEE BREAK
ICC 141 | 10:30-11:00 am

—

SESSION 3B: 11:00 am – 12:00 pm

CHAIR: Paula Muñoz
ROOM: ICC 101

Elena Barham, Ella Bayi & María Victoria Murillo, Columbia University
NGOs and Land Conservation in Latin America: the case of Ecuador

Vanessa Navarro Rodríguez, University of California, Berkeley
Extraction and State Rejection: The Effects of Chile’s Forestry Plantations on Indigenous Identity

—

CHAIR: Brian Palmer-Rubin

ROOM: ICC 103

Mariana Rangel Padilla, Tecnológico de Monterrey
Press the pedal to the metal: The electro-mobility sector in Mexico

Daniel Rojas, University of British Columbia
How Do Business Elites Respond to Social Protests?

—

CHAIR: Rebecca Weitz-Shapiro

ROOM: ICC 105

Martín Ordóñez, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile
Horizontal Checks on Local Corruption: Assessing and Explaining Local Legislatures’ Performance in Curbing Municipal Corruption

Guillermo Toral, IE University
Street-level rule of law: Prosecutor presence and the fight against corruption

—

LUNCH BREAK
ICC 141 | 12:00 – 1:00 pm

REGIONAL LUNCHES:

SOUTHERN CONE CHAIR: Germán Feierherd | ROOM TBD

ANDES CHAIR: Silvia Otero-Bahamón | ROOM TBD

MEXICO & CENTRAL AMERICA CHAIR: Raul Pacheco-Vega | ROOM TBD

—

SESSION 4A: 1:00 – 2:30pm

CHAIR: Juan Pablo Luna
ROOM: ICC 101

Matthew Carnes, Georgetown University
Transforming the Religious/Secular Arena: The Far-Reaching Consequences of Educational Reform in Chile

Lindsay Mayka, Colby College
Citizenship and the State on the Urban Margins

Silvia Otero-Bahamón, Universidad del Rosario
Pathways towards the reduction of subnational social inequality in Latin America

—

CHAIR: Elize Massard da Fonseca
ROOM: ICC 103

Sandra Botero, Universidad del Rosario
BOOK PANEL
Courts that Matter
Discussants: Eduardo Dargent, Isabel Güiza

Juan Bogliaccini, Universidad Católica del Uruguay
BOOK PANEL
Empowering Labor? Leftist Approaches to Wage Policy in Unequal Democracies
Discussants: Silvia Otero-Bahamón, Gustavo Flores-Macías

Jennifer Cyr, Paula Clerici, Universidad Torcuato Di Tella-CONICET, & Julieta Suárez-Cao, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile
Citizen Support for Collaboratively-Produced Policy in Latin America

—

CHAIR: Eduardo Madariaga
ROOM: ICC 105

Alicia Cooperman, George Washington University; Lizandro Lui & Ismael Marques, Fundação Getúlio Vargas
Politics of YESS: Year end spending spikes and their implications for (in)efficient policymaking in Brazil

Grace Jaramillo, University of British Columbia

Western responses to Latin American crises: a political economy view

Cesar Zucco & Daniela Campello, FGV – Getúlio Vargas Foundation
Economic Conditions and Institutional Instability

—

COFFEE BREAK
ICC 141 | 2:30 – 3:00 pm

—

SESSION 4B: 3:00 – 4:30 pm

CHAIR: Juan Pablo Luna
ROOM: ICC 101

Ivan Souza Vieira, CIDE – Centro de Investigación y Docencia Económicas
Fair Fare? The Interplay Between Affordability and Quality in Latin American Urban Bus Systems

Ursula Dias Peres & Eduardo Cesar Leão Marques, University of São Paulo (USP)

Exploring the Politics of Municipal Budgets – Evidences from Brazil

Sara Niedzwiecki, University of California, Santa Cruz
Immigrants’ Barriers to Accessing Social Policy in Argentina and Chile

—

CHAIR: Elize Massard da Fonseca
ROOM: ICC 103

Noah Schouela, University of Chicago
Class-Based Voting and Local Election Competition in Fragmented Latin American Cities

Alejandro Bonvecchi, Universidad Torcuato Di Tella-CONICET, & Emilia Simison, Queen Mary University of London
Fiscal Policymaking in Autocracies

Eduardo Dargent, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Peru; & Madai Urteaga, Harvard University
Repensando las Zonas Marrones de Guillermo O’Donnell

—

CHAIR: Eduardo Madariaga
ROOM: ICC 105

Ana Sofia Elverdin, Yale University
After Success: What Sustains Social Movements? Evidence from Contemporary Feminist Movements in Argentina

Gabriel Farfán-Mares, Georgetown University; Pedro Torres-Lopez, LSE; & Esteban Bruera Schulmaister, Consejo de Evaluación de la Ciudad de México
Public finance & Democracy in Mexico: A Machine Learning approach to understand 50 years of presidential hegemony

Gabriel Ondetti, Missouri State University

Economic Structure, Cultures of Popular Activism and Public Sector Size in Bolivia and Guatemala

—

4:30 – 6:00 pm
THEME PANEL: “The US Elections’ Implications for Latin America”
Organized by the Local Committee

SPEAKERS:

Rebecca Bill Chavez, Inter-American Dialogue
William LeoGrande, American University
Jamil Scott, Georgetown University

CHAIRS:

Matthew Carnes & Diana Kapiszewski, Georgetown University

ICC AUDITORIUM
*Entrance on 3rd/Main Floor of ICC

—

6:00 – 6:15 pm
CONFERENCE CLOSING
ICC AUDITORIUM
*Entrance on 3rd/Main Floor of ICC

—

PROGRAM CHAIRS:
Silvia Otero-Bahamón, Universidad del Rosario
Brian Palmer-Rubin, University of Southern California

LOCAL PROGRAM COMMITTEE:
Diana Kapiszewski, Georgetown University
Matthew Carnes, Georgetown University

Grecia Prieto Colón (MA Candidate), Georgetown University

REPAL STEERING COMMITTEE:
Juan Bogliaccini (Chair), Universidad Católica del Uruguay
Aldo Madariaga, Universidad Diego Portales
Alisha Holland, Harvard University
Alison Post, University of California, Berkeley
Eduardo Dargent, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú
Gustavo Flores-Macías, Cornell University
Matthew Carnes, Georgetown University
Sara Niedzwiecki, University of California at Santa Cruz