Carla Álvarez Velasco is a researcher and professor at the Institute of Higher National Studies in Quito, Ecuador. She holds a PhD in Political Studies and a Master’s degree in International Relations. Her expertise lies in the study and research of firearms control policies and the small arms and light weapons trafficking in Latin America, as well as armed violence and gender-based violence. She has published several high-impact articles in indexed journals. Additionally, she has collaborated with international organizations such as the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNLIREC), the Small Arms Survey, and the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime, among others. Carla has been recognized by UNLIREC as a leading Latin American academic in arms control and disarmament, particularly noted in the book, Forces of Change.

Publications

• Carla Álvarez. 2024. ¿Lost Paradise? Arms Trafficking in Ecuador. Link: https://globalinitiative.net/analysis/firearms-trafficking-and-violence-in-ecuador/ Daniel Pontón y Carla Álvarez. 2023. “Necropolitics and neoliberal penalty. The case of Ecuador”. Link: https://bibliotecavirtual.unl.edu.ar/publicaciones/index.php/DelitoySociedad/article/view/12822