My name is Mariana V. Ramírez Bustamante. I am a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Heidelberg Center for Ibero-American Studies at Heidelberg University in Germany. I received my Ph.D. in Political Science from Vanderbilt University in May 2024. At Vanderbilt, I was also a Graduate Research Affiliated with the LAPOP Lab. During the 2023-2024 AY, I was an APSA EPOVB Early-Career Fellow. I hold a B.A. in Political Science and Government from the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru, an M.A. in Political Science from Vanderbilt University, and an M.A. in Latin American Studies from the University of Salamanca (Spain).

My research focuses on criminal governance, drug trafficking, public opinion, and electoral outcomes. I apply a mix of methodologies in my work, including surveys, and experiments, as well as in-depth interviews, direct observation, and focus groups.

My dissertation addresses how the illicit drug trafficking economy and related actors influence vote choice, as well as citizens’ attitudes toward local authority and democracy more broadly. I examine these phenomena in four ways. First, I assess why people vote for narco-linked candidates using original online experiments conducted in Peru. Second, I show the effect of the illegal revenues from the coca industry in popular support for the incumbent, through an in-depth case study of the Monzón Valley (Peru). Third, I draw on survey data from Andean countries to examine illegal economic voting to explain the levels of support for the local government. Finally, I use survey data and qualitative evidence from direct observation and focus groups in Peru to assess drug trafficking organizations’ (DTOs’) impact on citizens’ support for democracy.

You can reach me at mariana.v.ramirez.bustamante@vanderbilt.edu