Latin America

Featured News

Commentary

Our programs across Latin America

Latin American countries are harnessing the power of new and developing technologies, such as AI, to reach key development goals and address climate, inequity, and other urgent challenges.

Working alongside partner institutions in the region, CIS researchers and faculty apply their knowledge in the areas of democratization, politics, regime change, and capitalist development to finding new solutions to these and other critical issues. And to support ongoing efforts combatting climate change in Latin America, we’ve also launched the MIT-Amazonia Program, which investigates climate solutions and opportunities to sustain the rainforest for the long term.

Our Experts

Staff

Rosabelli Coelho

Lead, Latin America

Managing Director, MIT-Brazil Program, MIT-Amazonia Program

Faculty and Researchers

Bradley Olsen

Faculty Director, MIT-Brazil Program

Alexander and I. Michael Kasser (1960) Professor Department Executive Officer, Chemical Engineering

Faculty and Researchers

F. Daniel Hidalgo

Associated Faculty, MIT-Brazil Program

Associate Professor, Political Science

Staff

Eduardo Rivera

Assistant Director, MISTI Data Systems

Managing Director, MIT-Chile Program, MIT-Peru Program

Faculty and Researchers

Ben Ross Schneider

Faculty Director, MIT-Chile Program, MIT-Peru Program

Ford International Professor of Political Science

Staff

Griselda Gomez

Assistant Director, MISTI Student Health and Safety

Managing Director, MIT-Mexico Program

Faculty and Researchers

Paulo Lozano

Faculty Director, MIT-Mexico Program

Miguel Alemán Velasco Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics Director, Space Propulsion Lab

Faculty and Researchers

Mihaela Papa

Director of Research

Principal Research Scientist

Staff

Gabriela Diaz Quinones

Program Assistant, MISTI

Staff

Brenna Ketchum

Program Assistant, MISTI

M3 LATIN AMERICA

M3 is an effort to strengthen ties with colleagues across the Institute who share research interests in a particular region or discipline. We invite you to join our mailing list if you'd like to receive news and updates on research in Latin America in all disciplines and research topics, but especially around global challenges such as climate and sustainability, health, AI and computing, democratic stability, inequality, and human development.

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Events

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Opportunities

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MISTI Global Experiences

MISTI matches students with internships, teaching, research and study opportunities across Latin America, including in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Peru and Uruguay.

Explore MISTI programs

Global Seed Funds

The MIT Global Seed Fund grant program enables new collaborations between faculty and research scientists at MIT and their counterparts around the world.

Browse seed funds

Launch a new research collaboration

The next round of the MIT Global Seed Funds opens in September 2025.

Learn more

Student Spotlights

CIS makes it possible for MIT students to experience the world while advancing knowledge, tackling tough challenges, and preparing for lives of impact, service, and leadership in an interconnected global society.

Jaden's story

Chemistry '25

During the summer of 2024, Jaden Anderson traveled to Manaus, Brazil. He worked with research groups; one focusing on clinical trials against malaria and the second focused on investigating natural compounds extracted from Amazonian fungi and plants, with potential applications in medicine.

Kira's story

Biological Engineering '23

Kira, a biological engineering major and minoring in Spanish and computer science, went to Chile during the summer of 2022. Kira worked with a set of datasets of TARA Ocean data which gave more insight to ocean microbiomes.

Juan's story

Artificial Intelligence and Decision Making '27

Juan did a summer internship at CICATA, the Research Center for Applied Science and Advance Technology of the National Polytechnic Institute in Querétaro. He worked on a project to improve the Instituto Mexicano de Oftalmología's capacity to assess patient eligibility for corneal refractive surgery.

Donny's story

Mathematics '25

Donny Stralkus '25 collaborated with a professor on deep learning research at UTEC in Lima, Peru.

Bella's story

Chemical-Biological Engineering '26

Bella Aparicio interned at Vinos y Licores, using her skills in biochemistry and engineering to develop new non-alcoholic fermented beverages.

Student opportunities

Publications

See all publications

Report

Papa, Mihaela, and Evan S. Lieberman. “Global Climate Adaptation: Overcoming Political and Policy Challenges.” MIT Center for International Studies, Post-Workshop Report (April 2025).

April 2025

Paper

Lieberman, Evan, and Michael Ross. "Government Responses to Climate Change." World Politics 77, no. 1 (2025): 179-190.

January 2025

Paper

Papa, Mihaela, and Zhen Han. “The Evolution of Soft Balancing in Informal Institutions: The Case of BRICS.” International Affairs (London) 101, no. 1 (2025): 73–95.

January 2025

Book

Routes to Reform: Education Politics in Latin America

Oxford University Press

2024

Routes to Reform: Education Politics in Latin America

Paper

Han, Zhen, and Mihaela Papa. “Leadership and Performance in Informal Institutions: The Internal Dynamics of BRICS.” Contemporary Politics 30, no. 1 (2024): 87–107.

October 2023

Paper

Cummings, Peter M. M, Alejandra Mizala, and Ben Ross Schneider. “Chile’s Inclusion Law: The Arduous Drive to Regulate an Unequal Education System, 2006-19.” Educational Review (Birmingham) 77, no. 3 (2025): 764–89.

July 2023

Paper

Papa, Mihaela, Zhen Han, and Frank O’Donnell. “The Dynamics of Informal Institutions and Counter-Hegemony: Introducing a BRICS Convergence Index.” European Journal of International Relations 29, no. 4 (2023): 960–89.

July 2023

Paper

Adamson, Fiona B, and Kelly M Greenhill. “Deal-Making, Diplomacy and Transactional Forced Migration.” International Affairs (London) 99, no. 2 (2023): 707–25.

March 2023

Paper

Bruns, Barbara, Ben Ross Schneider, and Jaime Saavedra. 2023. “The Politics of Transforming Education in Peru: 2007-2020”. University of Oxford. doi:10.25446/oxford.23686557.v1.

March 2023

Paper

Charnysh, Volha. “Historical Political Economy of Migration.” In The Oxford Handbook of Historical Political Economy, edited by Jeffery A. Jenkins and Jared Rubin, Oxford University Press, 2024.

October 2022

Featured News

Indian diplomacy: the new era of BRICS

Papa on the 2025 BRICS Summit

Exploring data and its influence on political behavior

Summer 2025 reading from MIT

BRICS’ new map Is taking shape

Chancellor Melissa Nobles’ address to MIT’s undergraduate Class of 2025

Robert Wilhelm visits CIS

CIS awards 20 PhD research grants

MIT without borders

MIT Global Seed Funds announces recipients of its 2024-2025 cycle

Our programs across Latin America

Our Experts

Rosabelli Coelho

Bradley Olsen

F. Daniel Hidalgo

Eduardo Rivera

Ben Ross Schneider

Griselda Gomez

Paulo Lozano

Mihaela Papa

Gabriela Diaz Quinones

Brenna Ketchum

Events

Opportunities

Student Spotlights

Jaden's story

Kira's story

Juan's story

Donny's story

Bella's story

Publications

Papa, Mihaela, and Evan S. Lieberman. “Global Climate Adaptation: Overcoming Political and Policy Challenges.” MIT Center for International Studies, Post-Workshop Report (April 2025).

Lieberman, Evan, and Michael Ross. "Government Responses to Climate Change." World Politics 77, no. 1 (2025): 179-190.

Papa, Mihaela, and Zhen Han. “The Evolution of Soft Balancing in Informal Institutions: The Case of BRICS.” International Affairs (London) 101, no. 1 (2025): 73–95.

Routes to Reform: Education Politics in Latin America

Han, Zhen, and Mihaela Papa. “Leadership and Performance in Informal Institutions: The Internal Dynamics of BRICS.” Contemporary Politics 30, no. 1 (2024): 87–107.

Cummings, Peter M. M, Alejandra Mizala, and Ben Ross Schneider. “Chile’s Inclusion Law: The Arduous Drive to Regulate an Unequal Education System, 2006-19.” Educational Review (Birmingham) 77, no. 3 (2025): 764–89.

Papa, Mihaela, Zhen Han, and Frank O’Donnell. “The Dynamics of Informal Institutions and Counter-Hegemony: Introducing a BRICS Convergence Index.” European Journal of International Relations 29, no. 4 (2023): 960–89.

Adamson, Fiona B, and Kelly M Greenhill. “Deal-Making, Diplomacy and Transactional Forced Migration.” International Affairs (London) 99, no. 2 (2023): 707–25.

Bruns, Barbara, Ben Ross Schneider, and Jaime Saavedra. 2023. “The Politics of Transforming Education in Peru: 2007-2020”. University of Oxford. doi:10.25446/oxford.23686557.v1.

Charnysh, Volha. “Historical Political Economy of Migration.” In The Oxford Handbook of Historical Political Economy, edited by Jeffery A. Jenkins and Jared Rubin, Oxford University Press, 2024.