OVER 360 LATIN AMERICA EXPERTS CALL ON OBAMA TO IMPROVE U.S. - LATIN AMERICAN RELATIONSWASHINGTON - October 28 - Anticipating a democratic victory in the November 4 presidential elections, 368 academics specializing in Latin America recently sent a letter urging Senator and presidential candidate Barack Obama to become a partner, rather than an adversary, concerning changes already under way in Latin America.
Above all, the signers are asking Senator Obama to understand the current impetus for progressive change in many of the region's countries: the rejection of the failed "free-market" model of economic growth that has been imposed in most countries since the early 1980s - a period which has seen the worst economic growth failure in the region, in terms of per capita GDP, in over a century -- and the adoption of more socially just and environmentally sustainable development styles.
The signers expressed their hope that an Obama administration will embrace the opportunity to inaugurate a new period of hemispheric understanding and collaboration for the welfare of the entire Hemisphere.
Most of those signing are members of the Latin American Studies Association (http://lasa.international.pitt.edu/eng/index.asp), the largest and most influential professional association of its kind in the world. Signers include Eric Hershberg, President of the Latin American Studies Association (LASA) and twelve LASA Past Presidents, along with over 350 other academics and Latin America experts.
The letter follows: 
October 20, 2008
Dear Senator Obama:
We write to offer our congratulations on your campaign and to express our hope that as the next president of the United States you will take advantage of an historic opportunity to improve relations with Latin America. As scholars of the region, we also wish to convey our analysis regarding the process of change now underway in Latin America.
Just as the people of the United States have begun to debate basic questions regarding the sort of society they want-- thanks in part to your own candidacy but also owing to the magnitude of the current financial crisis-- so too have the people of Latin America. In fact, the debate about a just and fair society has been going on in Latin America for more than a decade, and the majority are opting, like you and so many of us in the United States, for hope and change. As academics personally and professionally committed to development and democracy in Latin America, we are hopeful that during your presidency the United States can become a partner rather than an adversary to the positive changes already under way in the hemisphere.
The current impetus for change in Latin America is a rejection of the model of economic growth that has been imposed in most countries since the early 1980s, a model that has concentrated wealth, relied unsuccessfully on unrestricted market forces to solve deep social problems and undermined human welfare. The current rejection of this model is broad-based and democratic. In fact, contemporary movements for change in Latin America reveal significantly increased participation by workers and peasants, women, Afro-descendants and indigenous peoples-- in a word, the grassroots. Such movements are coming to power in country after country. They are neither puppets, nor blinded by fanaticism and ideology, as caricatured by some mainstream pundits. To the contrary, these movements deserve our respect, friendship and support.
Latin Americans have often viewed the United States not as a friend but as an oppressor, the guarantor of an international economic system that works against them, rather than for them-- the very antithesis of hope and change. The Bush Administration has made matters much worse, and U.S. prestige in the region is now at a historic low. Washington's tendency to fight against hope and change has been especially prominent in recent U.S. responses to the democratically elected governments of Venezuela and Bolivia. While anti-American feelings run deep, history demonstrates that these feelings can change. In the 1930s, after two decades of conflict with the region, the United States swore off intervention and adopted a
Good Neighbor Policy. Not coincidentally, it was the most harmonious time in the history of U.S.-Latin American relations. In the 1940s, nearly every country in the region became our ally in World War Two. It can happen again.
There are many other challenges, too. Colombia, the main focus of the Bush Administration's policy, is currently the scene of the second largest humanitarian crisis in the world, with four million internally displaced people. Its government, which criminalizes even peaceful protest, seeks an extension of the free trade policies that much of the hemisphere is already reacting against. Cuba has begun a process of transition that should be supported in positive ways, such as through the dialogue you advocate. Mexicans and Central Americans migrate by the tens of thousands to seek work in the United States, where their labor power is much needed but their presence is denigrated by a public that has, since the development of opinion polling in the 1930s, always opposed immigration from anywhere. The way to manage immigration is not by building a giant wall, but rather, the United States should support more equitable economic development in Mexico and Central America and, indeed, throughout the region. In addition, the U.S. must reconsider drug control policies that have simply not worked and have been part of the problem of political violence, especially in Mexico, Colombia and Peru. And the U.S. must renew its active support for human rights throughout the region. Unfortunately, in the eyes of many Latin Americans, the United States has come to stand for the support of inequitable regimes.
Finally, we implore you to commit your administration to the firm support of constitutional rights, including academic and intellectual freedom. Most of us are members of the
Latin American Studies Association (LASA), the largest professional association of experts on the region, and we have experienced first-hand how the Bush administration's attempt to restrict academic exchange with Cuba is counter-productive and self-defeating. We hope for an early opportunity to discuss this and other issues regarding Latin America with your administration.
Our hope is that you will embrace the opportunity to inaugurate a new period of hemispheric understanding and collaboration for the common welfare. We ask for change and not only in the United States.
Sincerely,
SIGNED:
Eric Hershberg, LASA President 2007-09, Professor of Politics and Director of Latin American Studies, Simon Fraser University
Charles R. Hale, LASA Past President (2006-2007), Professor of Anthropology, University of Texas at Austin
Sonia E. Alvarez, LASA Past President (2004-2006), Leonard J. Horwitz Professor of Politics, University of Massachusetts-Amherst
Marysa Navarro Aranguran, LASA Past President (2003-2004), Charles Collis Professor of History, Dartmouth College
Arturo Arias, LASA Past President, (2001-2003), Professor of Spanish and Portuguese University of Texas, Austin
Thomas Holloway, LASA Past President (2000-2001), Professor Of History, University of California, Davis
Susan Eckstein, LASA Past President (1997-98), Professor of Sociology & International Relations, Boston University
Cynthia McClintock, LASA Past President (1994-95), Professor of Political Science and International Affairs, George Washington University
Carmen Diana Deere, LASA Past President (1992-94), Professor of Food and Resource Economics and Director, Center for Latin American Studies, University of Florida
Lars Schoultz, LASA Past President (1991-92), William Rand Kenan, Jr., Professor of Political Science, UNC, Chapel Hill
Jean Franco, LASA Past President (1989-91), Emeritus Professor, Columbia University
Helen I. Safa, LASA Past President (1983-85), Emeritus Professor of Anthropology and Latin American Studies, University of Florida
Paul L. Doughty, LASA Past President (1974-75), Distinguished Service Professor, Emeritus of Anthropology and Latin American Studies, University of Florida
María Rosa Olivera-Williams, LASA Past Congress Chair (2001-2003), Associate Professor of Latin American Literature, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana
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Thomas Abercrombie, Associate Professor of Anthropology and Director, Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies, NYU
Holly Ackerman, Ph.D. Librarian for Latin America and Iberia, Duke University
Judith Adler Hellman, Professor of Social and Political Science, York University, Toronto
Norma Alarcon, Professor Emeritus, University of California, Berkeley
Alfonso Alvarez, Social Worker, Boston College Graduate School
Wayne F. Anderson, Professor of History and Latin American Studies, Johnson C. Smith University, Charlotte, NC
Robert Andolina, Assistant Professor of International Studies, Seattle University
Frances R. Aparicio, Professor, Latin American and Latino Studies Program, University of Illinois at Chicago
Kirsten Appendini, El Colegio de México, Mexico
Juan Manuel Arbona, Associate Professor, Growth and Structure of Cities Program, Bryn Mawr College
Benjamin Arditi, Professor, Centro de Estudios Politicos, UNAM, Mexico, DF
Mauricio Arenas - CUPW Local 626
Andres Avellaneda, Emeritus Professor, Spanish and Latin American Studies, U. of Florida
William Avilés, Asociate Professor of Political Science, University of Nebraska, Kearney
Dra. Emperatriz Arreaza-Camero, Investigadora adscrita al Cine Club Universitario de Maracaibo, Universidad de Zulia
Florence E. Babb, Vada Allan Yeomans Professor of Women's Studies, University of Florida
Xóchitl Bada, Assistant Professor, Latin American and Latino Studies Program. University of Illinois at Chicago
Gianpaolo Baiocchi, Director of Development Studies, Associate Professor of Sociology and International Studies, Brown University
Sharada Balachandran-Orihuela. Doctoral Student. English department, University of California, Davis
Deborah Barndt, Professor, Faculty of Environmental Studies and Centre for Research on Latin America and the Caribbean, York University, Toronto, Canada
Magdalena Barros Nock, Professor/Researcher, CIESAS México
Leslie Bary, Associate Professor of Spanish and Latin American Studies, University of Louisiana at Lafayette
Emilio Bejel, Distinguished Professor of Latin American Studies, University of California at Davis
Lourdes Benería, Professor of City and Regional Planning, Cornell University
Carollee Bengelsdorf, Professor of Politics, Hampshire College, Amherst, MA
Rina Benmayor, Professor, Humanities and Communication, California State University Monterey Bay
Vivienne Bennett, Professor, Liberal Studies Department, California State University, San Marcos
Charles Bergquist, Emeritus Professor of History, University of Washington
Michelle Bigenho, Associate Professor of Anthropology, Hampshire College
O'Neill Blacker-Hanson, Assistant Professor of Latin American History, Valparaiso University, Indiana
Mario Blaser, Assistant Professor of International Development, York University, Toronto
David Block, Curator of Latin American Collections, Cornell University
Laura Bonilla-Merchav, Department of Art History, Graduate Center, City University of New York
Stephen R. Boucher, Associate Professor, Agricultural and Resocurce Economics, UC Davis
Kirk Bowman, Associate Professor, Sam Nunn School International Affairs, Georgia Institute of Technology
Kalina Brabeck, Psychologist, Assistant Professor of Counseling, Rhode Island College
Rosalind Bresnahan, Ph.D., Collective of Coordinating Editors, Latin American Perspectives
M. Brinton Lykes, Ph.D., Associate Director, Center for Human Rights & International Justice, Professor, Community-Cultural Psychology, Boston College
Janet Brody Esser, Emeritus Professor and Past Associate Director, Center for Latin American Studies, San Diego State University
Alejandra Bronfman, Associate Professor, Department of History University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC
Dr. Ronda Brulotte, Lecturer III, Department of Anthropology, University of New Mexico
Monica Bucio, PhD Candidate, University of Warwick, United Kingdom
Stephanie Buechler, Research Associate, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona
Amy J. Buono, Assistant Professor of Art History, Southern Methodist University
María Cristina Burgueño, Associate Professor of Spanish, Marshall University
Kathryn Burns, Associate Professor of History, UNC Chapel Hill
Marisol de la Cadena, Associate Professor of Anthropology, UC Davis
Kia Lilly Caldwell, Assistant Professor, Department of African and Afro-American Studies University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
Maxwell A. Cameron, Department of Political Science, University of British Columbia
Ginetta E.B. Candelario, Director Latin American & Latina/o Studies and Associate Professor, Sociology Department, Smith College, Northampton, MA
Gloria Cañez, Investigadora del Departamento de Estudios Sociales del Sistema Alimentario CIAD AC, Sonora, México
M. Carmen Carrero de Salazar, Course Director, Faculty of Education, York University
Jennifer J. Casolo, PhD Candidate in Geography, University of California at Berkeley
J. Celso Castro Alves, Assistant Professor of Black Studies and History, Amherst College
Emma Cervone, Department of Anthropology, Johns Hopkins University
John C. Chasteen, Distinguished Professor of History, UNC Chapel Hill
Ronald H. Chilcote, Professor of Economics and Political Science, University of California, Riverside
Donna Chollett, Associate Professor of Anthropology, University of Minnesota-Morris
Aviva Chomsky, Professor of History, Salem State College, Massachusetts
Clemency Coggins, Professor of Archaeology and of Art History, Boston University
Jorge Coronado, Associate Professor of Spanish & Portuguese, Northwestern University
Fernando Coronil, Presidential Professor, Graduate Center, City University of New York
Dominic Corva, Ph. C., University of Washington Department of Geography
Jennifer N. Costanza, PhD student, Sociology, Brown University
Liliana Cotto-Morales, Professor, University of Puerto Rico
Raymond Craib, Department of History, Cornell University
Altha Cravey, Associate Professor of Geography, UNC Chapel Hill
Marta G. Cruz-Concepción, Teaching Fellow, 2008-10 University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill
Marco Cupolo, Assistant Professor of Spanish, University of Hartford
Edward D'Angelo, Professor of Philosophy, Quinnipiac University
Juanita Darling, Department of International Relations, San Francisco State University
Karen Davis, Faculty Lecturer, California State University Monterey Bay
Don Deere, PhD Student, Philosophy, DePaul University
William D. DeGrush, St. Michael's College, Colchester, VT
Guillermo Delgado, Lecturer in Latin American Studies, University of California, Santa Cruz
Jonathan Dettman, M.A.T. Associate Instructor, Department of Spanish, University of California, Davis
Dr. Rosalina Diaz, Associate Professor, Education Department, Medgar Evers College, City University of New York
Ariel Dorfman, Walter Hines Page Professor of Literature and Latin American Studies, Duke University
Lindsay DuBois, Associate Professor of Anthropology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada
Christopher Dunn, Associate Professor and Chair Department of Spanish and Portuguese, Tulane University
Luis Duno-Gottberg, Associate Prof. Rice University
Christine E. Eber, Associate Professor of Anthropology, New Mexico State University
Marc Edelman, Professor of Anthropology, Hunter College and the Graduate Center, City University of New York
David Egilman MD MPH, Clinical Associate Professor, Dept of Community Health, Brown University
Lynn England, Lecturer, Utah Valley University
Cecilia Enjuto Rangel, Assistant Professor of Spanish, Romance Languages, University of Oregon
Edward Epstein, Professor of Political Science, University of Utah
Arturo Escobar, Kenan Distinguished Professor of Anthropology, UNC, Chapel Hill
Francisco Escobedo, Assistant Professor, School of Forest Resources & Conservation, University of Florida
Diego Escolar, Profesor Adjunto de Antropología, Universidad Nacional de Cuyo
Mónica Espinosa-Arango, Assistant Professor of Anthropology, Universidad de Los Andes, Bogota
Alicia Ivonne Estrada, Assistant Professor, Central American Studies Program, California State University, Northridge
Judith Ewell, Newton Professor of History Emerita, College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, VA
Reverend Marc Fallon, csc, Catholic Social Services, New Bedford, MA
Claire Farago, Professor, Department of Art and Art History, University of Colorado at Boulder
Linda Farthing, independent scholar and author
Paja Faudree, Assistant Professor of Anthropology, Brown University
Karen Ann Faulk, PhD, Department of Anthropology, University of Michigan
Sandra Fernández Castillo, Associate professor of Philosophy, University of Chile
Sujatha Fernandes, Assistant Professor of Sociology, Queens College, CUNY
Virginia M. Fields, Ph.D., Senior Curator, Art of the Ancient Americas, Los Angeles County Museum of Art
Luis Figueroa, Associate Professor of History, Latin American, Caribbean, Latina\o Studies Coordinator, Trinity College, Hartford, CT
Eileen J. Findlay, Department of History, American University
Liz Fitting, Assistant Professor Sociology & Social Anthropology, Dalhousie University, Halifax
Sara María Lara Flores, Investigador, Instituto de Investigaciones Sociales de la Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, México DF
Yvette G. Flores, Ph.D. Professor of Psychology Chicana/o Studies Faculty Director Quarter Abroad Program Education Abroad Center U.C. Davis
Alcira Forero-Pena, Assistant Visiting Professor of Anthropology, UCD, Denver
Jonathan Fox, Professor, Latin American and Latino Studies Department, University of California, Santa Cruz
Erich Fox Tree, Visiting Lecturer, Department of Anthropology, Wellesley College
Elisabeth Jay Friedman, Associate Professor of Politics and Chair of Latin American Studies, University of San Francisco
Max Paul Friedman, Associate Professor of History, American University
Monica Frölander-Ulf, Associate Professor of Anthropology, University of Pittsburgh, Johnstown
Carmenza Gallo, Associate Professor of Sociology, Queens College, New York
Alyshia Gálvez, Assistant Professor, Latin American and Puerto Rican Studies, Lehman College/City University of New York
Forrest Gander, Writer, Professor of English & Comparative Literature, Brown University
Angela Garcia, Assistant Professor of Anthropology, UC Irvine
Spike Gildea, Associate Professor of Linguistics, University of Oregon
Andrea Giunta, Professor of Latin American Art, The University of Texas at Austin
Helen Sabrina Gledhill, Scholar at the Centro de Memória da Bahia, Fundação Pedro Calmon, Brazil
John Gledhill, Max Gluckman Professor of Social Anthropology & Co-Director, Centre for Latin American Cultural Studies, The University of Manchester, UK
Tanya Golash-Boza, Ph.D., Assistant Professor Department of Sociology, University of Kansas
W. L. Goldfrank, Prof of Sociololgy and Latin American & Latino Studies, University of California, Santa Cruz
Roberta E. Goldman, Clinical Associate Professor of Family Medicine, Brown University
William W. Goldsmith, Professor and Director, International Studies in Planning, Cornell University
Judith Goode, Professor of Anthropology and Urban Studies, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA
Gail Gonzalez, Associate Professor and Chair Modern Languages Department, University of Wisconsin
Miguel Gonzalez, Sessional Assistant Professor, International Development, York University, Toronto
Soledad González Montes, Profesora-investigadora, El Colegio de México
Paul Gootenberg, Professor of History, Stony Brook
Hubert C. de Grammont, Investigador, Instituto de Investigaciones Sociales de la Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, México DF
Greg Grandin, Professor of History, New York University
Karen B. Graubart, Associate Professor of History and Director, Program in Latin American Studies, University of Notre Dame
Terence Grieder, Professor Emeritus, Department of Art and Art History, University of Texas at Austin
Anna Gruben, Acting Assistant Professor of Political Science, University of Oregon
Kevin Guerrieri, Associate Professor of Spanish, University of San Diego
Matthew Gutmann, Professor of Anthropology, Ethnic Studies, and Latin American Studies, Department of Anthropology, Brown University
Liza Guzmán, Ecology Graduate Student, UNC-Chapel Hill
LaDawn Haglund, Assistant Professor, School of Justice and Social Inquiry, Arizona State University
Richard L. Harris, Professor Emeritus of Global Studies, California State University
Faye V. Harrison, Professor of Anthropology and Director, African American Studies, University of Florida
Daniel Hellinger, Professor of Political Science, Webster University, St. Louis
Elizabeth A Hennessy, PhD Student, Geography Department, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Kimberly Hernández, Spanish Language Instructor, North Carolina Central University
Marco Polo Hernández Cuevas, Associate Professor of Spanish, North Carolina Central University
Doug Hertzler, Associate Professor of Anthropology, Eastern Mennonite University
Peter E. Hildebrand, Professor Emeritus Food and Resource Economics, and Director Emeritus, International Programs, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences University of Florida
Derrick Hindery, Assistant Professor, International Studies Program and Department of Geography, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR
Donald Hindley, Professor of Politics and Latin American and Latino Studies, Brandeis University
Mary Holper, Boston College Immigration & Asylum Project, Boston College Law School
Lori Hopkins, Associate Professor of Spanish, University of New Hampshire
P. Terrence Hopmann, Professor of International Relations, Johns Hopkins University
René Harder Horst, Associate Professor of History Appalachian State University
Sallie Hughes, Associate Professor, School of Communication, University of Miami
Janise Hurtig, Senior Researcher, College of Education, University of Illinois at Chicago
Forrest Hylton, Ph.D. Candidate, Department of History, New York University
S. Ryan Isakson, Assistant Professor, International Development Studies, Saint Mary's University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
Reiko Ishihara, Ph.D., Former Visiting Professor, Institute of Interethnic Studies, University of San Carlos of Guatemala
Deborah Jakubs, Rita DiGiallonardo Holloway University Librarian, Vice Provost for Library Affairs, Adjunct Associate Professor of History, Duke University
Laura Jensen, LMT, Cultural Anthropologist, MPH candidate, New Haven, Connecticut
Reynaldo L. Jiménez, Associate Professor, Spanish and Portuguese Studies, University of Florida
Benjamin H. Johnson, Associate Professor, Southern Methodist University
Jennifer Jolly, Assistant Professor of Art History, Ithaca College, Ithaca, NY
Susanne Jonas, Latin American & Latino Studies, University of California, Santa Cruz
Tedd Judd, PhD, ABPP-CN Adjunct Clinical Faculty, Department of Psychology, University of Washington
Karen A. Kainer, Assoc. Prof., School of Forest Resources and Conservation, and Center for Latin American Studies, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL
Susana Kaiser, Ph.D., Department of Media Studies, University of San Francisco
Marina Kaplan, Associate Professor of Literature, Smith College, Northampton, MA
Nicole Kellett, Research Associate, University of New Mexico
Norma Klahn, Professor of Literature, University of California, Santa Cruz
Cecelia F. Klein, Professor, Department of Art History, 100 Dodd Hall, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA
Benjamin Kohl, Associate Professor, Geography and Urban Studies, Temple University
Sarah Koopman PhD Candidate, Geography, University of British Columbia
Elizabeth Kubick, Independent Scholar, Latin American and Caribbean Issues
Maria L. Lagos, Associate Professor Emerita, Lehman College, The City University of New York
Victoria Langland, Assistant Professor of History, University of California, Davis
Brooke Larson, Professor of History, Stony Brook University
Nathalie Lebon, Assistant Professor of Women's Studies, Gettysburg College
Catherine LeGrand, Associate Professor of History, McGill University, Montreal
Michelle Lenoue, MA Latin American Studies, San Diego State University
Kelley León Howarth, Senior Instructor of Spanish & Head Undergraduate Advisor, Department of Romance Languages, University of Oregon
Alejandra Letelier Kramer, Anthropology Department, University of California Santa Cruz
Fredric G. Levin, College of Law, Gainesville, FL
Elizabeth Lilliott, Associate Researcher, Pacific Institute of Research and Evaluation
Amy Lind, Mary Ellen Heintz Associate Professor of Women's Studies, University of Cincinnati
Flora Lu, Assistant Professor of Latin American and Latino Studies, University of CA--Santa Cruz
Anibal Lucas, Director, Organización Maya K´iche´, New Bedford, MA
Jennie M. Luna, Ed.M., Doctoral Candidate Native American Studies, U.C. Davis
Silje Lundgren, Ph.D. candidate, Inst of Latin American Studies, Stockholm University, Sweden
Amy Lutz, Professor of Sociology and Education, Syracuse University
Barbara Lynch, Sam Nunn School of International Affairs, Georgia Institute of Technology
Ann Magennis, Associate Professor, Anthropology, Colorado State University
Mary Ann Mahony, Associate Professor of History, Co-coordinator, Latin American Studies Committee, Central Connecticut State University, New Britain, CT
Maria Margarita Malagon-Kurka, PhD in Art History
Laura Malosetti Costa, Co-Director Magister in Sociology of Culture and Cultural Studies, IDAES, Universidad Nacional de San Martin, Buenos Aires
Bernardo Mançano Fernandes, São Paulo State University
Valeria Manzano, History Department, Indiana University at Bloomington
Michael Marchman, PhD Candidate, Department of Geography, University of Kentucky
Maxine L. Margolis, Professor Emerita of Anthropology, University of Florida, Gainesville
Diane Marting, Past President of the Mississippi Foreign Language Association, University of Mississippi
Lillian Manzor, Associate Professor of Modern Languages and Literatures, Director, Degree Programs in Latin American Studies, Director, Cuban/Latino Theater Archive, University of Miami
Patricia M. Martin , Professor of Geography, Université de Montréal, Montréal, CANADA
Rubén Martínez, Fletcher Jones Chair in Literature & Writing, Loyola Marymount University
Patricia Mathews-Salazar, Associate Professor of Anthropology, BMCC & Graduate Center, City University of New York
Kathleen McAfee, Faculty of International Relations, San Francisco State University
Frank D. McCann, Professor Emeritus of History, University of New Hampshire
Robert McKee Irwin, Professor of Spanish, UC Davis
Marc McLeod, Associate Professor of History and Director of Latin American Studies, Seattle University
Malcolm K. McNee, Asst. Professor of Portuguese and Brazilian Studies Dept. of Spanish and Portuguese, Smith College
J. Patrice McSherry, Professor of Political Science and Director, Latin American & Caribbean Studies Program, Long Island University
Carmen Medeiros, Assistant Professor and Faculty Fellow, Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies, New York University
Zoila Mendoza, Professor of Native American Studies, University of California, Davis
Cecilia Menjivar, Professor of Sociology, Arizona State University
Brent Metz, Asst Professor, Dept. of Anthropology, University of Kansas
Gwendolyn Midlo Hall, Rutgers University
Kenneth J. Mijeski, South Eastern Council of Latin American Studies (SECOLAS) Past President (1999-2000), Professor of Political Science, East Tennessee State University
Rosamel Millaman Reinao, Assistant Professor. Escuela de Antropología. Universidad Católica de Temuco, Chile
Rosamel Millaman Reinao, Assistant Professor, Universidad Católica de Temuco, Chile
Marilyn G Miller, Associate Professor, Tulane
Lisa Mills, Assistant Professor, School of Public Policy and Administration, Carleton University, Ottawa
William P. Mitchell, Prof. of Anthropology and Freed Foundation Professor in the Social Sciences, Monmouth University
Raúl Molina Mejía, Adjunct Professor of History, Long Island University
David Mora-Marin, Assistant Professor of Linguistics, UNC-Chapel Hill
Julio Moreno, Associate Professor, History and Latin American Studies,
Co-Director, Center for Latino Studies in the Americas, University of San Francisco
Kim Morse, Assistant Professor of History, Washburn University, Topeka, KS
Julia E. Murphy, Assistant Professor, Department of Anthropology, University of Calgary
Dr. Silvia Nagy-Zekmi, Professor of Hispanic and Cultural Studies, Director of the Center for Arab and Islamic Studies, Villanova University
María Isabel Neüman, Profesora titular de la Universidad del Zulia, Maracaibo, Venezuela
Liisa L. North, Professor Emerita, Political Science and former director of Centre for Research on Latin America and the Caribbean (CERLAC), York University, Toronto, Canada
John M. Norvell, Adjunct Assistant Professor of Anthropology, Pitzer College
Marcia Ochoa, Assistant Professor of Community Studies, UC Santa Cruz
Joanna O'Connell, Associate Professor, Department of Spanish and Portuguese Studies, University of Minnesota
Patrick J. O'Connor, Associate Professor of Hispanic Studies, Oberlin College
Elizabeth Oglesby, Assistant Professor of Geography and Latin American Studies University of Arizona
Diana Ojeda, PhD student, Clark University, Worcester MA, USA
Anthony Oliver-Smith, Professor Emeritus of Anthropology, University of Florida
Andrew Orta, Associate Professor of Anthropology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Gerardo Otero, Professor of Sociology and Latin American Studies, Simon Fraser University, Canada
Okezi T. Otovo, Doctoral Candidate, Department of History, Georgetown University
Mark Overmyer-Velázquez, Associate Professor of History and Director, Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies, University of Connecticut
Javier Eduardo Pabón, Assistant Professor International Studies, St. Augustine's College
Joseph M. Palacios, Assistant Professor, Sociology, Georgetown University, Washington, DC
Amalia Pallares, Associate Professor, Latin American & Latino Studies and Political Science, University of Illinois at Chicago
Juan Manuel Leon Parra, Graduate Student, Post-Deportation Human Rights Project, Center for Human Rights & International Justice, Boston College
Professor Alberto Julián Pérez, Director, Latin American and Iberian Studies, Texas Tech University
Melanie Pérez Ortiz, Catedrática Asociada, Departamento de Estudios Hispánicos, Universidad de Puerto Rico, Recinto de Río Piedras
Héctor Perla Jr., Assistant Professor, Latin American & Latino Studies, University of California, Santa Cruz
Ann H. Peters, Visiting Assistant Professor of Geography and Urban Studies, Temple University
Anna Peterson, Professor of Religion, University of Florida, Gainesville
Brandt Peterson, Assistant Professor of Anthropology, Michigan State University
Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, Adjunct Professor of International Studies, Center for Latin American Studies, Watson Institute, Brown University
Nancy Postero, Associate Professor, Anthropology, UC San Diego
Kerry Preibisch, Associate Professor, University of Guelph and Visiting Fellow, University of Sussex
Yolanda Prieto, Professor Emerita, School of Social Science and Human Services, Ramapo College of New Jersey
Lola Proaño Gómez, Professor, Languages Division Pasadena City College.
Edwin Quiles, Professor, University of Puerto Rico
Joanne Rappaport, Professor of Anthropology, Georgetown University
Laurel Rayburn, PhD in English, Brown University
Cynthia Radding, Gussenhoven Distinguished Professor of Latin American Studies, Department of History, UNC, Chapel Hill
Ana Cristina Ramírez Barreto, Profesora-investigadora en la Facultad de Filosofía, Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás de Hidalgo, Morelia, México
Margo Ramlal-Nankoe, Assistant Professor of Sociology, Ithaca College
Elías A. Ramos, Professor of Latin American Literature, California State University-Northridge
Marcus Rediker, Professor of History, University of Pittsburgh
Martha W. Rees, Professor, Agnes Scott College Decatur, GA
Bernardo Rengifo Lozano, Professor of Philosophy, Universidad de los Andes
Gerardo Renique, Associate Professor of History, City University of New York (CUNY)
Rosana Resende, Ph.D. Candidate, University of Florida, Department of Anthropology
Jennifer F. Reynolds, Assistant Professor of Anthropology, The University of South Carolina
Patricia Richards, Associate Professor of Sociology and Women's Studies, University of Georgia
Kenneth M. Roberts, Department of Government, Cornell University
William I. Robinson, Professor of Sociology, Global Studies, and Latin American Studies, University of California at Santa Barbara
Debra H. Rodman, Assistant Professor Anthropology and Women's Studies, Randolph-Macon College
Marisol Rodriguez, Senior Research Assistant, Center for Child and Family Policy, Duke University
Maria Rogal, Associate Professor of Graphic Design & Affiliate Faculty of the Center for Latin American Studies, University of Florida, Gainesville
Karem Roitman, Lecturer, Regent's American College London, London UK
Cristina Rojas, School of International Affairs, Carleton University, Ottawa
Rachel Rosenbloom, Post-Deportation Human Rights Project, Center for Human Rights & International Justice, Boston College
Regina A. Root, Associate Professor of Hispanic Studies, College of William and Mary
Frances Rothstein, Professor of Anthropology, Montclair State University
Frederick Royce, Assistant Scientist, University of Florida, Gainesville
Alma Ruiz, Curator MOCA, The Museum Of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, CA
Rubén G. Rumbaut, Professor of Sociology, University of California, Irvine
Dereka Rushbrook, Lecturer in Geography and Regional Development, University of Arizona, Tucson
Eduardo Sáenz-Rovner, Professor of Economic History, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogota
Frank Salomon, John V. Murra Professor of Anthropology, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Robert Samet, Ph.D. Candidate, Stanford University Department of Anthropology
James Sanders, Associate Professor of History, Utah State University
Luis Sandoval, Graduate Student, Post-Deportation Human Rights Project, Center for Human Rights & International Justice, Boston College
Myrna Santiago, Associate Professor of History, Director, Women's Studies Program, Saint Mary's College of California, Moraga, CA
Patricia Sawin, Associate Professor of Anthropology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
Suzana Sawyer, Associate Professor of Anthropology, University of California, Davis
Marianne Schmink, Professor and Director, Tropical Conservation and Development program, Center for Latin American Studies, University of Florida
Barbara Schroder, Ph.D., City University of New York
Ofelia Schutte, Professor of Philosophy, University of South Florida, Tampa
T.M. Scruggs, Associate Professor, School of Music, University of Iowa
Miguel La Serna, Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of History, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
Maureen E. Shea, Associate Professor of Spanish, Tulane University.
Barry G. Shelley, Ph.D. candidate, Department of Economics, University of Massachusetts at Amherst
Avrum J. Shriar, Associate Professor and Undergraduate Program Coordinator, Urban/Regional Studies and Planning L.D. Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs, Virginia Commonwealth University
Sharleen H. Simpson, PhD, MSN, MA, ARNP, Associate Professor of Nursing and Anthropology, Affiliate Faculty in Latin American Studies, University of Florida
Peter Singelmann, Professor of Sociology, University of Missouri-Kansas City
Sandy Smith-Nonini, Research Assistant Professor, Dept. of Anthropology, UNC, Chapel Hill
Dr. Caridad Souza, Lecturer, SUNY-College at Oneonta
Liv Sovik, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro
Karen Spalding, Professor of History, The University of Connecticut
Shannon Speed, Assistant Professor of Anthropology, Coordinator, Indigenous Studies Initiative University of Texas at Austin
Dr. Anita Spring, Professor, Dept. of Anthropology, University of Florida
Barbara Stallings, William R. Rhodes Research Professor, Watson Institute for International Studies, Brown University
Maya Stanfield-Mazzi, Assistant Professor of Art History, University of Florida
Steve Stein, Professor of History, Director Center for Latin American Studies, University of Miami
Marcia Stephenson, Associate Professor of Spanish, Purdue University
Steve Striffler, Doris Zemurray Stone Chair of Latin American Studies, University of New Orleans
Margarita M.W. Suarez, Department of Religion & Philosophy, Meredith College
Christina A. Sue, Assistant Professor of Sociology, University of Colorado-Boulder
Heather Sullivan, PhD Candidate in Political Science, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Henry W. Sullivan, Dept. of Spanish & Portuguese, Tulane University, New Orleans
Sharon Sullivan Mujica, Consultant, Institute for the Study of the Americas, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
Daniel O. Suman, Professor, Division of Marine Affairs & Policy (MAF), Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science (RSMAS), University of Miami
David Sweet, Prof. Emeritus of Latin American Histor, University of California, Santa Cruz
Analisa Taylor, Associate Professor of Spanish, University of Oregon
Beatriz de la Tejera H., Profesora e Investigadora Titular en Desarrollo Rural, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México y Universidad Autónoma Chapingo
Miguel Tinker Salas, Arango Professor of Latin American History, Pomona College
Cynthia Tompkins, Asc. Prof. Spanish, School of International Letters and Cultures, Arizona State University
Marion Traub-Werner, Dissertation Writing Fellow, University of Minnesota
Donaldo Urioste, Professor of Spanish & Chicano Literature, School of World Languages & Cultures California State University, Monterey Bay
Andrea Valenzuela, Assistant Professor of Spanish, Whitman College
Ivonne del Valle, Assistant Professor, University of Michigan
Lucila Vargas, Associate Professor, School of Journalism and Mass Communication, UNC Chapel Hill
Verónica Vallejo, Doctoral Candidate, Department of History, Georgetown University
Stefano Varese, Professor of NAS, University of California, Davis
Adrián Ventura, President, Organización Maya K´iché, New Bedford, MA
Adam Versényi, Barranger Distinguished Term Professor of Dramatic Art, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Steven Volk, Professor of History Director, Center for Teaching Innovation and Excellence, Oberlin College
Lissie Wahl, Research Fellow, Department of Social Medicine, Harvard Medical School
Kay Warren, Tillinghast Professor of International Studies and Professor of Anthropology, Watson Institute for International Studies, Brown University
Ronald Waterbury, Emeritus Professor of Anthropology, Queens College CUNY
William F. Waters, Chair, LASA Ecuadorian Studies Section (2006-present), Professor of Sociology and Public Health, Universidad San Francisco de Quito (Ecuador)
Ronald W. Webb, Director, Latin American Studies (2006-present), Temple University
Susan V. Webster, Jane W. Mahoney Professor of Art and Art History, College of William and Mary
Mark Weisbrot, Co-Director, Center for Economic and Policy Research
Cliff Welch, Professor of History, Grand Valley State University
Norman E. Whitten, Jr., Professor Emeritus of Anthropology and Latin American Studies and Curator of the Spurlock Museum, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Linda Wilcox Young, Professor of Economics, Southern Oregon University
Justin Wolfe, William Arceneaux Associate Professor of Latin American History, Tulane University
Wendy Wolford, Associate Professor of Geography, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Stephanie Wood, Associate Director for Development and Dissemination, Center for the Study of Women in Society, University of Oregon
Edgar Woznica, Brown University undergraduate '09
Robin M. Wright, Full Professor of Anthropology (Universidade Estadual de Campinas) & Associate Professor of Religion (UF Gainesville)
Horacio Xaubet, Associate Professor, Modern Foreign Languages, North Carolina Central University
Qingwen Xu, Assistant Professor, Boston College Graduate School of Social Work
Caroline Yezer, Assistant Professor of Anthropology, College of the Holy Cross
April Yoder, PhD Student, Georgetown University
Professor Jordan Young, Professor Emeritus Brazilian Civilization, Pace University, New York
Phil Young, Professor Emeritus, Department of Anthropology, University of Oregon
Emma Zapata Martelo, Colegio de Postgraduados, México, Profesora Investigadora Titular
Pat Zavella, Professor and Chair, Latin American and Latino Studies Department, University of California, Santa Cruz
María Zebadúa Serra, Professor, Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, México
Lori Zett, MIA School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University, and Adjunct professor, Temple University
Marc Zimmerman, Professor and Director, World Cultures and Literatures, Director, Global CASA/LACASA Publications, University of Houston
Ann Zulawski, Professor of History and Latin American Studies, Smith College
drinking water, propane and fuel also available). Much farther up river and out of town is Saiananda (somewhat cheaper at $170, also with wifi)) Or simply anchor off the town (the holding is excellent anywhere off the town; even the owner of Puerto Amistad has his yacht anchored off; no anchoring up at Saiananda, I have heard) and pay dinghy-docking fees (currently only at Puerto Amistad ($100/month) or Bahía Yacht Club ($60/month). The Bahía Yacht Club is friendly but very noisy at weekends and facilities (except the pool) are a bit tacky; taken together, that is likely why there are no boats there. They don’t have an agency either. A new causeway across the river is being built upriver a bit from the town. This will impact access to Saiananda starting perhaps within a few months since the clearance will be too low for normal sailboat masts. Rumours are that Saiananda will have a solution ready in time. Check with them. Although anchor holding is good everywhere, there is really no place near the town to land your dinghy on the beach.
