María’s research interests are democratic backsliding, hybrid regimes, authoritarianism, illiberalism, populism, and immigration in Latin America, with a focus on comparative Latin American politics, democratisation, and immigration.
Her most recent co-authored op-ed was published in Foreign Policy.
She is the current Co-chair of the LASA Latinx Studies Section (2024–2026), and a member of the APSA Status Committee on Contingent Faculty in the Profession (2025–2028).
María received a doctorate in social sciences and an MA in political science and public administration from the Universidad de Carabobo in Venezuela.
She was an Associate Professor and Chair of Public Administration at the Universidad de Carabobo from 2001 to 2018.
Authoritarian Consolidation in Times of Crisis: Venezuela under Nicolás Maduro
Routledge, 2025
María contributed the chapter 'The Venezuelan Diaspora and Maduro’s Authoritarian Consolidation' to this volume, which is one of six books on Venezuela recommended by The Economist.
