María Cristina Ayala León
International Research Training Group 'Temporalities of Future in Latin America'
PhD Candidate
Political Sciences
Project: "Direct democracy and anti-extractive resistance. Analysis of aspiration and anticipation dynamics around the popular cosultations of Chocó Andino (Ecuador) and Cajamarca (Colombia)"
14195 Berlin
Education
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Since 05/2025 |
PhD Candidate, International Research Training Group ‘Temporalities of Future’ |
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09/2019 – 10/2020 |
Master in 'New Dynamics of International Relations, Cooperation and Conflict' at University Alfonso X (UAX), Madrid, Spain |
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02/2011 – 07/2017 |
Bachelor in Social Communication and Journalism at Central University of Ecuador (UCE), Quito, Ecuador |
Work Experience
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Since 05/2025 |
Researcher, International Research Training Group ‘Temporalities of Future’ |
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05/2023 – 11/2024 |
Electoral Organization Specialist at the Electoral Observation Missions of the Organization of American States (OAS), in USA, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Colombia and Guatemala |
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01/2018 – 10/2022 |
Communications and International Relations Officer at Central University of Ecuador |
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06/2019 – 07/2022 |
Regional Coordinator at the Electoral Observation Missions of the Organization of American States (OAS) in Colombia, Honduras, Peru, Bolivia and Guatemala |
PhD-Project: "Direct democracy and anti-extractive resistance. Analysis of aspiration and anticipation dynamics around the popular consultations of Chocó Andino (Ecuador) and Cajamarca (Colombia)"
Faced with the expansion of socio-environmental conflicts in Latin America, popular consultations emerge as an institutional tool of resistance, in which opposing visions of the future are confronted. This research focuses on the analysis of the aspirations and anticipations of the actors in two popular anti-mining consultations in the Andean region: the Chocó Andino consultation in Ecuador and the Cajamarca consultation in Colombia. Both electoral processes were proposed “from below” by grassroots social movements and took place within the framework of formal electoral systems; however, their effects and results were different. The research seeks to examine how the application of direct democracy reconfigured the composition of the actors, their perceptions of the future and their strategies for action, before, during and after the consultations.
Chapter
López Pulles, Ramiro; Ayala León, María Cristina; Tapia, Hector (2023): "Routes, challenges and prospects of Internationalization at the Central University of Ecuador (2014-2021)", Higher Education and Society Magazine, 35. IESALC - UNESCO.
