Marcela Vásquez-León

Interests

Research

Topics: Rural development and grassroots collective action; women’s leadership; environmental anthropology and vulnerability to climate change; political ecology; environmental justice; border issues; human rights, migration, and rural displacement; ethnographic film. Geographic Areas: Latin America (Brazil, Colombia, Cuba, Ecuador, Mexico, Paraguay) and US Southwest, including U.S.-Mexico Border.

Teaching

UndergraduateLAS 150 Modern Latin America: Environment, Development, and PoliticsHNRS 195 The Drug Trade: A Latin American PerspectiveHNRS 150 Modern Latin America and Human RightsANTH/LAS 348 Drug Wars and Oil Fortunes in Latin AmericaLAS 405 Sabores de Mexico: From Farm to TableLAS 498 Senior Capstone GraduateLAS 500 Introduction to Latin American Studies: Identity, Modernity, and Development in Latin AmericaLAS 550 Qualitative Research MethodsANTH/LAS 595N Environment and Conflict in Latin AmericaLAS 505 Sabores de Mexico: From Farm to Table

Courses

Scholarly Contributions

Books

• Duncan, D., Vasquez-Leon, M., & Rushbrook, D. A. (2017). Portraits of Cuba. University Press of Florida.
• Duncan, D., Vasquez, M., & Rushbrook, D. (2020). Portraits of Cuba. University Press of Florida.
• Duncan, D., Vasquez, M., & Rushbrook, D. (2020). Portraits of Cuba.. University Press of Florida..
• Vasquez, M. (2017). Cooperatives, Grassroots Development, and Social Change: Experiences from Rural Latin America.
• Vasquez, M., Vasquez-leon, M., Burke, B. J., & Finan, T. J. (2017).

  Cooperatives, Grassroots Development, and Social Change: Experiences from Rural Latin America. Edited Volum. The University of Arizona Press. 

  . University of Arizona Press.
• Vasquez, M., Berke, B., & Finan, T. J. (2017). Cooperatives, Grassroots Development, and Social Change: Experiences from Rural Latin America. Tucson: University of Arizona Press.
• Vasquez, M. (1995).

  Environmental adaptation, political coercion, and illegal behavior: Small-scale fishing in the Gulf of California.

  . The University of Arizona..

Chapters

• Vasquez, M. (2017). Capiibary Cooperative: A strategy of Diversification to Reverse the Rural Exodus. In Cooperatives, Grassroots Development, and Social Change: Experiences from Rural Latin America.
• Vasquez, M. (2017). The Paraguayan Context of Social Inequality. In Cooperatives, Grassroots Development, and Social Change: Experiences from Rural Latin America.
• Vasquez, M., & Burke, B. (2017). Cooperatives as Change Agents in Rural Latin America: Synthesizing Experiences Across Countries. In Cooperatives, Grassroots Development, and Social Change: Experiences from Rural Latin America. University of Arizona Press.
• Vasquez, M., & Gonzalez Aguilera, A. (2017). Collective Challenges and the Fair Trade Alternative: The Manduvirá Cooperative. In Cooperatives, Grassroots Development, and Social Change: Experiences from Rural Latin America.
• Bidwell, M., Landry, C., McGranahan, D., Morton, L., & Vasquez, M. (2014). Rural Communities. In Climate Change Impacts in the United States. The Third National Climate Assessment.(pp 333-346). U.S. Global Change Program. doi:107930/j0231wj2
• Vasquez, M. -. (2012). Policies of Conservation and Sustainable Development: the case of fishing communities in the Gulf of California, Mexico. In Neoliberalism and Commodity Production in Mexico. University Press of Colorado.
• West, C. T., & Vasquez, M. (2003). Testing Farmers' Perceptions of Climate Variability: a case study from the Sulphur Springs Valley, Arizona. In Weather, Climate, Culture: Building Anthropological Bridges from Past to Future. Berg Publishing.
• Vasquez, M. (1999). Neoliberalism, Environmentalism, and Scientific Knowledge: re-defining natural resource use rights in Mexico. In States and Illegal Practices. Berg Publishers.

Journals/Publications

• Rodríguez-Franco, I., Muñoz Sevilla, P., García Urquídez, D., & Vasquez, M. (2020). Participación Social en el Area de Protección de Flora y Fauna Islas Golfo de California.. Region y Sociedad.
• Vasquez, M. -., & Arenas, A. (2012). Militarism in the Americas. Revista de Estudos Universitários, Sorocaba.
  More info

  ;Your Role: Second author, this is the introduction of a special issue where Alberto Arenas and I are the editors;Full Citation: 2012 Arenas, A. And M Vásquez-León. Militarism in the Americas. Revista de Estudos Universitários, Sorocaba, 38(1): 9-12.;Electronic: Yes;Collaborative with faculty member at UA: Yes;
• Vasquez, M. -., & Lindsay-Poland, J. (2012). Will Common Sense Ever Prevail? Lost Lessons, Militarization, and Cycles of Violence and Impunity in Colombia and Mexico.. evista de Estudos Universitários, Sorocaba.
  More info

  ;Your Role: Main author;Full Citation: 2012 Vásquez-León, M. and J. Lindsay-Poland. Will Common Sense Ever Prevail? Lost Lessons, Militarization, and Cycles of Violence and Impunity in Colombia and Mexico. Revista de Estudos Universitários, Sorocaba, 38(1): 53-74.;Electronic: Yes;Other collaborative: Yes;Specify other collaborative: Collaborative with a human rights practitioner;
• Vasquez, M. -. (2010). Free Markets and Fair Trade, Collective Livelihood Struggles, and the Cooperative Model: Two Case Studies from Paraguay. Latin American Perspectives.
  More info

  ;Full Citation: 2010 Vásquez-León, M. Free Markets and Fair Trade, Collective Livelihood Struggles, and the Cooperative Model: Two Case Studies from Paraguay. Latin American Perspectives. 175 (37): 53-73.;Electronic: Yes;
• Vasquez, M. -. (2010). Walking the Tight Rope: Latin American Agricultural Cooperatives and Small Farmer Participation in Global Markets.. Latin American Perspectives.
  More info

  Introduction to special issue, with contributions from graduate students (Brian burke and jessica Piekielek).;Your Role: Auhor and editor of special issue;Full Citation: 2010 Vásquez-León, M. Walking the Tight Rope: Latin American Agricultural Cooperatives and Small Farmer Participation in Global Markets. Latin American Perspectives. 175 (37): 3-11.;Electronic: Yes;
• Vasquez, M. (2009).

  ONE DECADE OF DROUGHT AND TWO OF NEOLIBERAL REFORMS IN THE SIERRA SONORENSE: RESPONSES BY THE RURAL POOR *

  . Journal of Southern Rural Sociology.
  More info

  Since the mid-1990s, Northwest Mexico has been experiencing drought conditions. As Mexico’s number one irrigator, the state of Sonora’s agricultural sector is particularly concerned about the availability and distribution of surface and ground water. Drought has contributed to a sharp decline in cultivated area, the abandonment of land, and permanent out migration of a large sector of the rural population. This paper examines the vulnerability to drought of small farmers in the Santa Cruz and Magadalena basins, south of the Sonora-Arizona international border. Farmer’s ability to respond to drought is considered within the larger context of neoliberal reform policies, social inequality, and free trade between Mexico and the U.S. By focusing on the most vulnerable, the paper argues that informal social networks and collective organization are key strategies to improve adaptive capacity, particularly for those who do not have access to state sponsored adaptations.
• Vasquez, M. -. (2009). Hispanic Farmers and Farmworkers: Social Networks, Institutional Exclusion, and Climate Vulnerability in Southeastern Arizona. American Anthropologist.
  More info

  ;Full Citation: 2009 Vásquez-León, M. Hispanic Farmers and Farmworkers: Social Networks, Institutional Exclusion, and Climate Vulnerability in Southeastern Arizona. American Anthropologist. 111(3):289-301. ;Electronic: Yes;
• Vasquez, M. -. (2009). One Decade of Drought and Two of Neoliberal Reforms in the Sierra Sonorense: Responses by the Rural Poor. Journal of Southern Rural Sociology.
  More info

  ;Full Citation: 2009 Vásquez-León, M. One Decade of Drought and Two of Neoliberal Reforms in the Sierra Sonorense: Responses by the Rural Poor. Journal of Southern Rural Sociology 24(1):44-66.;Electronic: Yes;
• Vasquez, M. -., Brian, B., & Radonic, L. (2009). Engaging Students in Applied Research: Experiences from Collaborative Research and Learning in Brazil and Paraguay.. Learning and Teaching in the Social Sciences.
  More info

  ;Your Role: Lead author;Full Citation: 2009 Vásquez-León, M., B. Burke, L. Radonic. Engaging Students in Applied Research: Experiences from Collaborative Research and Learning in Brazil and Paraguay. Learning and Teaching, Summer Issue 2(2):46-65. ;Collaborative with graduate student: Yes;
• Vasquez, M. -., West, C. T., & Marcela, . (2008). Misreading the Arizona landscape: challenging received wisdom on ecological destruction in southeastern Arizona.. Human Organization.
  More info

  ;Your Role: I am co-author in the paper. We conducted the research together and I wrote a significant amount;Full Citation: 2008 West, C. T. and M. Vásquez-León. Misreading the Arizona landscape: challenging received wisdom on ecological destruction in southeastern Arizona. Human Organization. 67 (4):363-383.;Electronic: Yes;Other collaborative: Yes;Specify other collaborative: Collaborative with a former graduate student who got his PhD in 2006;
• Wilder, M., Vasquez-leon, M., Lenart, M., Comrie, A. C., Garfin, G. M., & Ray, A. J. (2007).

  Applications of Monsoon Research: Opportunities to Inform Decision Making and Reduce Regional Vulnerability

  . Journal of Climate, 20(9), 1608-1627. doi:10.1175/jcli4098.1
  More info

  Abstract This article presents ongoing efforts to understand interactions between the North American monsoon and society in order to develop applications for monsoon research in a highly complex, multicultural, and binational region. The North American monsoon is an annual precipitation regime that begins in early June in Mexico and progresses northward to the southwestern United States. The region includes stakeholders in large urban complexes, productive agricultural areas, and sparsely populated arid and semiarid ecosystems. The political, cultural, and socioeconomic divisions between the United States and Mexico create a broad range of sensitivities to climate variability as well as capacities to use forecasts and other information to cope with climate. This paper highlights methodologies to link climate science with society and to analyze opportunities for monsoon science to benefit society in four sectors: natural hazards management, agriculture, public health, and water management. A list of stakeh...
• Vasquez-leon, M., & Liverman, D. (2004).

  The political ecology of land-use change: Affluent ranchers and destitute farmers in the Mexican Municipio of Alamos

  . Human Organization, 63(1), 21-33. doi:10.17730/humo.63.1.urh0lujh3ea9gy7n
  More info

  This paper examines the interactions between the environment political and economic policies and changes in land use and land quality by focusing on one region in northwest Mexico where dramatic transformations have occurred since the early 1970s. A political ecology approach is used to examine the nature and causes of environmental change at different scales of analysis to address the importance of meanings assigned to ecological systems and the effect of human-environmental interactions on natural resources. The objective of the study is to uncover the different circumstances under which farmers and ranchers have affected environmental change and how land-use decisions interact with political economic and environmental drivers through history. An emphasis is placed on the complexity of interactions between drivers and on understanding differences in perspectives between large-scale commercial ranchers more diversified small-scale farmers and ejidatarios bureaucrats and environmentalists. The study concludes that strategies for reducing deforestation and developing reasonable community based plans that promote sustainable livelihoods must consider the local and external causes of deforestation the difficulty of environmental monitoring and intraregional differences in environmental and socioeconomic parameters. (authors)
• Vasquez-leon, M., Finan, T. J., & West, C. T. (2003).

  A COMPARATIVE ASSESSMENT OF CLIMATE VULNERABILITY: AGRICULTURE AND RANCHING ON BOTH SIDES OF THE US-MEXICO BORDER

  . Global Environmental Change-human and Policy Dimensions, 13(3), 159-173. doi:10.1016/s0959-3780(03)00034-7
  More info

  Abstract Social science research on climate vulnerability tends to be limited to case studies in either industrial countries or in less-developed nations. The empirical study presented here takes a comparative approach across this divide by examining rural livelihoods on both sides of the United States–Mexico border. Looking beyond single agricultural systems, crossing borders and listening to rural producers in this semi-arid environment offers a more complete picture of how differences in access to resources, state involvement, class and ethnicity result in drastically different vulnerabilities within a similar biophysical context. We distinguish between coping and buffering in examining adaptation strategies and place an emphasis on the historical context of vulnerability as a dynamic social process with socioeconomic and environmental consequences.
• Vasquez-leon, M. (2002).

  Assessing Vulnerability to Climate Risk: The Case of Small-Scale Fishing in the Gulf of California, Mexico

  . Investigaciones Marinas, 30(1), 204-205. doi:10.4067/s0717-71782002030100089

Proceedings Publications

• Vasquez, M., Vasquez-leon, M., West, C. T., Wolf, B., Moody, J., Finan, T. J., & West, C. T. (2002).

  Vulnerability to climate variability in the farming sector : a case study of groundwater-dependent agriculture in southeastern Arizona

  . In Final Report for NOAA. CLIMAS Report CL1-02. Institute for the Study of Planet Earth..

Presentations

• Vasquez, M. (2020, November). Las cooperativas, Desarrollo de Base, y el Cambio Social: Experiencias de América Latina Rural. VI SEMINARIO INTERNACIONAL SOBRE CONFLICTO INTERNO ARMADO: La Memoria histórica y los retos del postconflicto en medio de la pandemia. colombia.
• Vasquez, M. (2016, March). A Grassroots Strategy to End the Rural Exodus in Paraguay: The CapiiBary Cooperative. World Bank Land and Poverty Conference: Scaling up Responsible Land Governance. Washington, DC: World Bank.
• Vasquez, M. (2016, March). Colombian refugees in Ecuador: dealing with food insecurity and conflict with local communities. Society for Applied Anthropology. Vancouver: Society for Applied Anthropology.
• Renteria-Valencia, R., & Vasquez, M. (2014, march). A Semiotic Gillnet: Marine Reserves, Narco-Traffic, and Small-Scale Fisheries in the Upper Gulf of California, Mexico. Society for Applied Research in Anthropology. New Mexico: SfAA.
• Vasquez, M., & Duncan, D. (2014, March). Documenting Social entrepreneurs and cooperatives in Brazil for HD Television. Society for Applied Research in Anthropology. Albuquerque, NM: SfAA.
• Vasquez, M. -. (2012, 2012-03-01). The CapiiBary Cooperative: A Collective Struggle to Reverse the Rural Exodus. Society for Applied Anthropology. Baltimore.
  More info

  ;Type of Presentation: Academic Conference;
• Vasquez, M. -. (2012, 2012-05-01). Collaborative governance and building adaptive capacity in the Colorado River Delta/Upper Gulf of California. Adaptation Futures Conference.
  More info

  ;Type of Presentation: Academic Conference;
• Vasquez, M. -. (2012, 2012-09-01). Perspectives on the Role of the U.S. Military in Colombia. Center For Latin American Studies.
  More info

  ;Invited: Yes;Type of Presentation: University;
• Vasquez, M. -. (2011, 2011-03-01). Small-holder Cooperatives as Agents of Grassroots Sustainable Development: case studies from Paraguay and Brazil. Society for Applied Anthropology. Seattle.
  More info

  ;Submitted: Yes;Refereed: Yes;Type of Presentation: Academic Conference;
• Vasquez, M. -. (2011, 2011-03-01). The Andean Region. Latin American Orientation Course. Davis Monthan Airforce.
  More info

  ;Invited: Yes;Type of Presentation: Community Outreach;
• Vasquez, M. -. (2011, 2011-09-01). Reflections on Cuba. Coffee with Colleagues. UA Latin American Studies.
  More info

  ;Invited: Yes;Collaborative with faculty member at UA: Yes;Type of Presentation: University;
• Vasquez, M. -. (2011, 2011-11-01). Pescando al Borde de la ExtinciĂłn en el Alto Golfo de California. Foro Binacional sobre Desarrollo Human Transfronterizo en la RegiĂłn Sonora-Arizona. Nogales, Sonora, Mexico.
  More info

  ;Submitted: Yes;Refereed: Yes;Interdisciplinary: Yes;Type of Presentation: Academic Conference;
• Vasquez, M. -. (2010, 2010-02-01). Ethnicity and Vulnerability to Drought in the US-Southwest. The Scholar & Feminist Conference XXXV, Feminism and Climate Change. Barnard College, New York.
  More info

  ;Invited: Yes;Type of Presentation: Academic Conference;
• Vasquez, M. -. (2010, 2010-03-01). Fishing at the Edge of Extinction: Vaquita Conservation in the Gulf of California. . Society for Applied Anthropology. Merida, Mexico.
  More info

  ;Submitted: Yes;Type of Presentation: Academic Conference;
• Vasquez, M. -. (2010, 2010-04-01). The US-Mexico Border from a Historical Perspective. United States-Mexico Border Center of Excellence Consortium Arizona State Conference. Tucson, Arizona.
  More info

  ;Invited: Yes;Type of Presentation: Invited/Plenary Speaker;
• Vasquez, M. -. (2010, 2010-05-01). Latin American Cooperatives Project 2004-2010: Presentation of Results. ACDIVOCA, Conferencia del Programa Mundial de Desarrollo Cooperativo-PDC. Asuncion, Paraguay.
  More info

  Presentation of project results, including a talk, presentation of two videos and a workshop.;Invited: Yes;Type of Presentation: Government/policy/community audiences;
• Vasquez, M. -. (2009, 2009-03-01). Autonomy, Governance, and Sustainable Development: Small Rural Cooperatives in the New Paraguay. Society for Applied Anthropology. Santa Fe, NM.
  More info

  ;Submitted: Yes;Type of Presentation: Professional Organization;
• Vasquez, M. -. (2009, 2009-04-01). Marine and Coastal Conservation Policies in the Gulf of California: Who Benefits?. Udall Center Lecture Series. University of Arizona.
  More info

  ;Invited: Yes;Type of Presentation: University;
• Vasquez, M. -. (2009, 2009-06-01). Fishing Communities, Conservation, and Representation: a Preliminary Assessment of the Marine Ecological Organizing Plan for the Gulf of California, Mexico. Latin American Studies Association. Rio de Janeiro.
  More info

  ;Submitted: Yes;Type of Presentation: Professional Organization;
• Vasquez, M. -. (2009, 2009-10-01). International Efforts and Indigenous Health Issues in Latin America. American College of Physicians, Board of Governors meeting. Scottsdale, Arizona.
  More info

  ;Invited: Yes;Type of Presentation: Academic Conference/Workshop;
• Vasquez, M. -., & Radonic, L. (2009, 2009-03-01). Cooperatives and Small Scale Producers from Paraguay: Negotiating Visual Perspectives of Representation. Society for Applied Anthropology. Santa Fe, NM.
  More info

  ;Your Role: Director of video project;Submitted: Yes;Collaborative with graduate student: Yes;Type of Presentation: Professional Organization;
• Vasquez, M. -. (2008, 2008-03-01). Exploring the Challenges of Engaging Students in Understanding Policy: Experiences from Collaborative Research in Brazil and Paraguay. Society for Applied Anthropology. Memphis.
  More info

  Invited by session organizers to be part of the session;Invited: Yes;Type of Presentation: Academic Conference;
• Vasquez, M. -. (2008, 2008-03-01). History of Coastal Communities and Fisheries by the Sea of Cortes in Mexico. Symposium on Water History of the Southwestern United States. International Water History Association. Udall Center, University of Arizona.
  More info

  ;Invited: Yes;Type of Presentation: Professional Organization;
• Vasquez, M. -. (2008, 2008-03-01). La Cadena Productiva del Banano en la Cooperativa Guayaibi Unido . Ampliando Oportunidades en el Mundo. ACDI/VOCA. Asuncion Paraguay.
  More info

  This is also outreach, as I present research results to community members and policy makers;Invited: Yes;Type of Presentation: Professional Organization;
• Vasquez, M. -. (2008, 2008-04-01). Defying Power: Nature and Local Communities in Latin America.. Rocky Mountain Council for Latin American Studies 55th Annual Conference. Flagstaff, Arizona.
  More info

  I was invited by the presenters as panel discussant;Invited: Yes;Type of Presentation: Panel Discussant (Reporting Research);
• Vasquez, M. -. (2008, 2008-04-01). Free-Markets and Fair Trade: Collective livelihood Struggles and the Cooperative Model in Paraguay. Anthropology Department Lecture Series. University of Arizona.
  More info

  ;Submitted: Yes;Type of Presentation: University;
• Vasquez, M. -. (2008, 2008-10-01). Graduate Field Research in Latin America. TINKER conference, Center for Latin American Studies. The University of Arizona.
  More info

  Invited by students as panel discussant;Invited: Yes;Type of Presentation: Panel Discussant (Reporting Research);

Creative Productions

• Duncan, D., & Vasquez, M. (2015. Documenting Social Entrepreneurs and Cooperatives in Brazil for HD Television. MediaConfluence Center.

Others

• Vasquez, M. (2024, august). Filme etnografico em curso com antropologa colombiana no PPGCOM. Canal do Programa de Pós-Graduação em Cominicação PUC-Rio.
• Vasquez, M. (2024, september). Etnografía visual, uma ponte entre ciência e transformação social: Entrevista com Marcela Vásquez-León. By Raquel Galindo and Luana Vicentina. ALCEU (Rio de Janeiro, online), V.24, No 54, p. 185-195.
• Zabludoff, A. I., Blowers, P., Boesen, K. J., Attakai, A., Abril, E. R., Taljanovic, M., Feeney, M. E., Margolis, E., Miller, J. E., Goshima, K. R., Cooley, J. H., Lee, J., Coppola, C. L., Berry, M. K., Duran-Cerda, D. G., Higgins, C. M., Ahner, H., Kumet, R., Heusinkveld, J., , Krieg, P. A., et al. (2017, March). Sahel Framework for mainstreaming land policy and governance into national agriculture policy. Africa Land Adivisory group.
• Ramirez, L., Muller, M., & Vasquez -Leon, M. (2015, December). Evaluación de Operación: Ecuador, Operación Prolongada de Socorro y Recuperación, 200275, Operación de Asistencia a Refugiados y Personas Afectadas por el Conflicto en Colombia: Una evaluación de la operación del PMA. Plan De Inserció.
• Vasquez, M. -. (2012). Environmental Adaptation, Political Coercion, and Illegal Behavior: Fishing in the Gulf of California..
  More info

  ;Full Citation: Vásquez-León, M. Environmental Adaptation, Political Coercion, and Illegal Behavior: Fishing in the Gulf of California. Book under preparation. University of Arizona Press.;Status: Paper in Preparation;
• Vasquez, M. (2010, sept). La Frontera.
  More info

  Filmed and produced a short documentary video with Eliane Rubisnstein-Avila on the border.2010 Vásquez-León, M. and E. Rubinstein-Avila. Retratos Fronterizos/Border Portraits. DVD. Produced as part of a video documentary workshop with Daniel Duncan.
• Vasquez, M. -., Greenhill, E. G., & Radonic, L. (2008). Manduvira.
  More info

  Promotional video of the Manduvira cooperative in Paraguay. Contains a 5 min., 20 min., and 45 min. versions in English and Spanish.;Your Role: Director;Full Citation: 2008. Vásquez-León, M. (director). Manduvira. With Ernesto Gonzalez Greenhill (camera and editor) and Lucero Radonic (editor). The Bureau of Applied Research in Anthropogy, Tucson, Az. and Visualarte, Santiango de Chile, Chile.;Collaborative with graduate student: Yes;Other collaborative: Yes;Specify other collaborative: Video documentary done in collaboration with Visualarte Chile, a Chilean film production agency.;