I am a member of a new generation of academics that rejects the notion that academia is inextricably separated from policy decisions and social impact. Instead, I rely on data analysis, research journalism, and close collaboration with academic peers to develop a keen understanding of Mexico's most pressing social problems and to design and promote novel solutions for them.
I teach U.S.-Mexico politics at the Harvard Summer School and write for the European newspaper El País and the Mexican newspaper Milenio.
My latest book, No Es Normal. The rigged game that fuels Mexican inequality and how to change it [in Spanish] examines how to create a more equitable, inclusive, and prosperous Mexico by improving fiscal, labor, and competition regulations. The publication received the "Latin American Leadership Award" from The Global School of Social Leaders in Vienna.
I have published a number of peer-reviewed papers in journals such as The Journal of Conflict Resolution, Comparative Political Studies, Justice Quarterly, Latin American Research Review, and Latin American Politics and Society, as well as an edited volume titled The Missing Reform, which focuses on how to enhance the Rule of Law in Mexico. As academic, serving as a visiting assistant professor at the universities of Harvard and Purdue.
As a public policy advisor, I work with prominent public and corporate leaders to uncover surprising policy realities through data-driven analysis. I nurture an extensive network of high-profile relationships with business leaders and political figures. I have also founded and directed applied research institutes like #MéxicoComoVamos, which promotes regional development in Mexico, and #Dateras, a group of women who utilize coding to strengthen strategic thinking.
I was honored to be selected by the World Economic Forum as a Young Global Leader 2020, and the Harvard Gazette recognized me as one of Harvard’s fifteen outstanding alumni in my cohort. I am a fellow of the International Women's Forum and served as a member of Mexico's National Anti-Corruption System in 2018, a position bestowed by the Mexican Senate upon eminent academics and activists. The British magazine The Economist described me as a “mover and shaker” in Mexico's civil society, and The Library of Congress designated my work on migration as a "Latin America Editor's Pick". In 2014, the American Political Science Association awarded me the prize for the best dissertation in public administration.
Other websites: Google Scholar, Personal website.
Author profiles: The Economist, America's Quarterly, El País [in Spanish], Dementes podcast [in Spanish]
Photos: Formal1, Formal2, Casual1, Casual2
For speaking engagements, contact me at: vrios@post.harvard.edu