My research is in the field of Political Ecology: the study of the political economy of social and environmental conflicts.
Specifically, I am interested in the role played by Afro-Colombian community leaders from the Pacific region of Colombia (one of the most biodiverse places in the world), in two specific and often conflicting outcomes. First, the development of productive entrepreneurial initiatives as alternatives to subsistence economies. Second, the collective resistance to the influx of illegal economies and other forms of market pressures. Studying the nature, tensions and extent of the role of those leaders contributes to the understanding of the dynamics of power within subaltern communities and how they play out in advancing more sustainable forms of development.