Telephone number:	+31 (0)71 527 2061
E-Mail:	i.m.veyl.ahumada@hum.leidenuniv.nl
Faculty / Department:	Faculteit der Geesteswetenschappen, Institute for History, Geschiedenis diversen
Office Address:	Witte Singel-complex van Wijkplaats 3 2311 BX Leiden Room number 0.01b

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Fields of interest

·        Education.
·        Social inequalities and social policies in Latin America.
·        Social development of frontier regions.
·        Governability, accountability and political legitimacy.
·        Public policy and social responsibility.
·        Democracy and human development.

Research

Institutional Change, Social Policy and Regional Development in the Tarapacá Región ( Chile), 1990-2010

My doctoral dissertation focuses on a series of social and political obstacles which negatively affect regional development in border areas, far away from the country’s core political and economic centre.

It takes as case study the history of the Tarapacá region in the northern part of Chile, with a common frontier with Peru and Bolivia. This region is characterized by relatively high levels of poverty and social inequality. This despite the fact that in the period 1990-2010 this region has experienced high levels of economic growth (due to the large mining industry), huge expenditures in social programmes, and the strengthening of the regional government as a result of state decentralization policies.

This research pays special attention to a series of social, economic asymmetries existing between the pattern of development followed in this border area and the changes in developmental approaches which have taken place in the core metropolitan region of Santiago de Chile. As a result of the strong centralism existing in Chile, during this period the central government in the capital city has imposed on Tarapacá a series of economic strategies and social programmes. They have been designed for the reality of the Santiago area, but in most cases they do not correspond with the specific features and needs of this distant border region.

Looking of a number of specific social policies implemented in Tarapacá, I will explore to what an extent the regional authorities as well as the local civil society organizations have attempted to reformulate the social policies coming from Santiago, and to readapt them to the particular socioeconomic and cultural context of the Tarapacá region.

Curriculum vitae

I come originally from Iquique, in the Tarapacá region. I obtained my degree on sociology and a master degree in Social Science and Social Development from the Arturo Prat University. In the period 2000-2004 I worked as assistant professor and researcher at that same university. In the period 2004-2008 I participated in the implementation of several social programmes and occupied the function of Chief of Cabinet in the provincial government.

From March 2011, I hold a position as a PhD-candidate at the Institute of History – Department of Latin American Studies.