Research

My current research topic and book project:

True Socialism or Chaos: American Social Democrats in Cold War Latin America

My book examines the involvement of the Socialist Party of America south of the border from the late 1930s to the early 1970s, using institutional records, periodical publications, and the personal papers of three socialist “experts” on Latin America. It probes the networks created by these globetrotter activists, follows their steps in Lázaro Cárdenas’ Mexico, Rómulo Betancourt’s Venezuela, Fidel Castro’s Cuba, and Salvador Allende’s Chile, and analyzes their interactions with institutions such as the U.S. State Department, the AFL-CIO, and the Socialist International. It is a story of hope and fear, one in which the struggle for democracy and socio-economic reform was undergirded by pervasive anti-communist anxieties.

Associated Publications:

“Fanny Simon, la izquierda chilena y el socialismo anticomunista en la Guerra Fría interamericana“

The Left and Mass Media in Chile

Associated Publications:

“La batalla por la opinión pública: Radiodifusión y política comunicacional en la vía chilena al socialismo“

Winner of the James A. Robertson Memorial Prize from the Conference on Latin American History for best article published in Hispanic American Historical Review in 2020.

“La revolución del sonido: Salvador Allende, la Unidad Popular y la adquisición y gestión de las radios Portales, Corporación y Magallanes“

“Más que una improvisación. Cartografía de las estrategias periodísticas del Partido Comunista de Chile, 1930-1970” —coauthored with Carla Rivera Aravena

“El Partido Comunista de Chile y la empresa periodística de El Siglo: Apuntes sobre sus orígenes y desarrollo“

“El mensaje cotidiano del mundo: Las agencias de noticias internacionales y la prensa comunista chilena durante la Segunda Guerra Mundial“

“Un diario al servicio de todo el país: Venta y distribución del periódico comunista El Siglo en Chile (1940-1948)“

“El Partido Socialista y Prensa Latinoamericana: Gestión económica y conflicto político en una empresa editorial chilena (1954-1973)” —coauthored with Joaquín Fernández Abara

The Communist Experience in Chile

Associated Publications:

“Making Friends and Making Out: The Social and Romantic Lives of Young Communists in Chile (1958-1973)“