February 2023 Newsletter

Dear Latin Americanist Community,

So much is happening at the UCLA Latin American Institute this month! We are celebrating a major accomplishment by our own Bryan Pitts, assistant director of the LAI, who just published his book, Until the Storm Passes: Politicians, Democracy, and the Demise of Brazil’s Military Dictatorship. As the subtitle indicates, Bryan’s book analyzes the turbulent years of Brazil’s military dictatorship (1964-1985) and the role that political elites played in the return to democracy. The book is even more relevant now that Brazil’s democratic elections have come under threat by right-wing politicians and the followers of former president, Jair Bolsonaro, who stormed and vandalized the government complex in the capital last month. On this note, check out Bryan’s contribution to the LAI blog on the January 8th right-wing insurrection in Brasilia and its aftermath. And stay tuned for a book presentation of Until the Storm Passes the LAI and the history department will hold in April. Congratulations, Bryan!!

I’m pleased to report that we have several funding opportunities with upcoming deadlines. We are taking applications for the Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) fellowship for undergraduate and graduate students learning Nahuatl, Portuguese, Quechua, and Spanish at the advanced level (third year and higher) only. Students can apply to the summer FLAS and to the academic year 2023-24 FLAS. The application deadline is February 22. Also, the outreach program of the LAI, coordinated by Veronica Zavala, has extended the deadline to apply to its summer program abroad From Monte Alban to California: Connecting the Indigenous Past and Present in Oaxaca, Mexico. K-12 LAUSD educators now have until February 13 to submit their materials for this four-week program. Apply here! And to graduate students working on Latin American and the Caribbean, stay tuned for the announcement of our summer field research grant in a couple of weeks. Relatedly, check out Andres Ramirez’s contribution to the LAI blog. Andres is a PhD student in Urban Planning at the Luskin School of Public Affairs, who is conducting research on indigenous urbanism and social movements in Colombia, with the support of the LAI. If you want to support the intellectually rigorous and socially relevant research that our graduate students do throughout the Latin America and the Caribbean, please contribute to the Graduate Training and Research on Latin America Fund.

As always, the LAI calendar is full of timely and thought-provoking events, organized by its centers and through collaborations with other institutes and departments on campus. Check it out! I want to thank those who donated to the LAI at the end of 2022. If you did not, you can always reconsider and give to the mission of the UCLA Latin American Institute and its centers, programs, and working groups. Your generous contributions support the lively intellectual life of the institute, student research, and our vibrant outreach activities. Thanks!

Rubén Hernández-León,
Director of the UCLA Latin American Institute