Alejandro Monjaraz

Residency: September – November 2015

Research Project: Transnational Political Participation: Migrant Associations in Los Angeles and their Involvement in Mexican Electoral Processes

Research Interests: transnational political participation, state-diaspora relations and cross-country studies

Biography

Alejandro Monjaraz is a doctoral candidate in global development at the Universidad Autonoma de Baja California. He has a B.A. in international relations and a master’s in social sciences applied to regional studies from the Universidad de Quintana Roo. His master’s research focused on Belizean electoral studies, specifically the electoral response as an indicator of democracy. He also worked on a cross-country project establishing the clandestine migrant crossing points between Mexico, Belize and Guatemala.  

Monjaraz’s current research emphases the transnational relation between Mexican hometown associations in Los Angeles and the national electoral management body. It uses the 2012 presidential campaign as a case of study, considering it has become a common practice for Mexican candidates to cross the border, speak with connationals and listen to their proposals as they would with the people in their electoral regions