Nine graduate and undergraduate students at the University of Texas at Austin were selected as the 2023 Embedded Scholars in democratic institutional development. They bring diverse academic and research experience in government, public policy, international relations, Spanish, management, and constitutional analysis—all with an interest in democratic institutions in Latin America.

Francisco Alvarado-Quiroz is a second-year master’s student at the LBJ School of Public Affairs. At UT, he has worked on immigration policy as a research assistant at the Central America and Mexico Policy Initiative, conducting field research along the U.S.-Mexico border. He also worked on environmental policy as a Meadows Fellow in Mexico’s Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources, and he previously worked in local government. After graduation, he hopes to enter the U.S. Foreign Service to support issues like democratic development around the world. As his parents are from southern Mexico, he has always been interested in democratization in Mexico and Latin America.

Alexys Aquino is a senior majoring in Government, International Relations and Global Studies, and Spanish. She is the long-time research assistant on a UT project tracking the democratic election of women and minorities around the world. She has also been involved with UT’s International Relations and Global Studies Council, UT Student Government, and Catholic Charities’ Disaster Preparedness and Relief Services. Her research experience, combined with her coursework and family background in Mexico, has spurred her interest in Latin American politics and society. Upon graduation, she plans to continue working and studying in Latin America.

Adriel Bustillos is a first-year student majoring in Government, Management, and Plan II—UT’s interdisciplinary honors major. He is currently a legislative assistant in the Texas House of Representatives where he researches legislation and works with constituents. He was previously a policy intern for an El Paso county commissioner where he learned about the economic and democratic practices that affect local communities and worked to build more communication between municipalities and the county. These two experiences have spurred his interest in supporting democratic development in Latin America. After graduation, he aspires to pursue a career in governmental affairs and policymaking.

Alejandra Jimenez is a second-year Government major, with coursework focused on international politics, courts, and the criminal legal system. She is a research assistant on a project exploring constitutional amendment procedures globally, relationships between rebellion and constitutions, and reasons for constitutional failure and replacement. She has also conducted research on the U.S. penal system, Argentina’s judicial system, Venezuela’s presidency, legality of rebellion in Uruguay, and the inviolability of the Mexican constitution. Outside UT, she has volunteered in various aspects of elections. After graduation, she plans to attend law school and work on criminal justice reform in the U.S. and abroad.

Matthew Martin is a PhD student in the Department of Government. He previously worked as a legal assistant in criminal and immigration law. He obtained a BA in Political Science and Legal Studies and a certificate in International Relations from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. His research interests include public participation in constitution-making, authoritarian constitutions, judicial politics, and immigration law and politics. He is conducting research on the constitutional consultation process in Chile and North American tribal constitutions, and he is in the early stages of his dissertation, exploring the use of public consultation in constitution-making by authoritarian regimes.

Frances Parra is a third-year International Business major, pursuing a certificate in Business Spanish. At UT, she is active in the University Venezuelan Association, the Hispanic Business Student Association, and Project Advance Austin, which engages UT students in managing service projects that assist local non-profits. She is conducting research through the UT President’s Award for Global Learning about literacy and language preservation in Peru. After graduation, she plans to work for a non-profit to fulfill her passion for philanthropy and humanitarian work in Latin America. As the daughter of Venezuelan immigrants, she has always been interested in Latin America and democratic institutions.

Kaitlin Passafiume is a PhD candidate in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese. She teaches courses in Spanish and Portuguese, and works at the University Writing Center where she has served as a writing consultant, the first diversity and inclusion coordinator, leader of the Spanish Consultation Team, and facilitator for collaborations with Ecuador’s first writing center at Universidad de San Francisco. She is co-editor of the peer-reviewed journal, Praxis: A Writing Center Journal. She is interested in decolonizing theories, multilingual education and policy, institutional representation, and human rights issues in Latin America. After graduation, she plans to pursue a diplomatic career path.

Guillermo Perez is a PhD student in the Department of Government. He is a Chilean lawyer and researcher, working as a researcher and lecturer in various think tanks, research centers, and universities in Chile. Since 2018, he has been a researcher at the Instituto de Estudios de la Sociedad—one of Chile’s most prestigious research centers. He actively participated in the Chilean constitutional reform process, advising members of the constitutional convention and presenting his proposals on territorial organization to the constitutional convention. His current research interests are comparative constitutional law, constitutional design, Latin American politics, and political theory.

Tien Vo is a senior majoring in Government and Math and participating in the Polymathic Scholars Honors Program. Her honors thesis conducted experiments in how to reduce partisan polarization in the United States. She is a research assistant at the Center for Media Engagement, analyzing productive political interactions on social media, and she previously assisted research projects on political polarization, party identification, multinational military exercises, and deep learning. She is a member of First-Generation Longhorns and Minority Women Pursuing Law and a mentor for younger Polymathic Honors students. She is interested in contributing to reforms that improve democracy.