Research

My dissertation is composed of three papers, each of which explores a different dimension of the political implications of social movements in Latin America with an empirical focus on university student movements. I argue that while social movements may not always directly result in visible policy change, they often have more diffuse effects on areas such as public opinion, the emergence of new political candidates, and political participation.

Working Papers

The Effects of Protest on Public Opinion: Evidence from Colombia

Available upon request

Abstract: How do mass protests affect political attitudes among the public? I argue that protests can convey information about the government’s performance, which in turn factors into individuals’ consideration of political attitudes. To illustrate this argument, I explore two distinct cases of protest movements in Colombia: the 2018 student strike for higher education reform, and the mass social unrest of 2021. I employ a type of natural experiment known as an ”unexpected event during surveys” design by exploiting the timing of the protests during the fieldwork period of the LAPOP Americas Barometer survey. The results suggest that in both cases, the onset of protests led to a swift and significant shift in several political attitudes, including approval of the incumbent president and pride in the national political system. This paper contributes to a growing body of literature which demonstrates that protests can be a powerful force for swaying public opinion.

The Electoral Appeal of Social Movement-Inspired Political Candidates

Description: In recent decades, there has been a growing sense of political disaffection across much of Latin America. In this context, scholars have turned their attention toward the electoral appeal of “outsider” political candidates who represent an alternative to the political establishment. However, one type of “outsider” political candidate that has gone relatively understudied consists of those with backgrounds in social movements. In Latin America, these types of candidates have commonly emerged from a myriad of movements, such as university student protest movements. However, we know little about how having a background as a social movement leader influences voters’ perceptions of these candidates. I argue that ideologically-aligned voters view social movement leadership experience as a signal of a candidate’s competence and credibility. This project explores this question through an original online survey experiment. I focus on the case of legislative candidates in Colombia, where a number of social movement activists have run for office in recent years.