Marco Antonio Garcia Mendez
Senior Fellow, South America Programme, Americas Centre
Marco Antonio Garcia Mendez
Senior Fellow, South America Programme, Americas Centre
Marco Antonio is the Senior Fellow. South America Programme, Americas Centre. He leads the South America Programme to contribute with analysis and regional perspectives to the work of CYIS on global security, economic-environmental and humanitarian threats.
Expertise
Latin American affairs
Transnational security policies and strategies
Multilateral affairs
Analysis of political-military dimension in the context of Latin America
Mexican domestic affairs
Geopolitical dynamics of Latin America.
Languages:
English, Spanish
Background
Marco Garcia is currently an incoming 4th year International Relations student at the University of Edinburgh. Marco is originally from Mexico and was born in La Paz, Bolivia. Having wide experience in European refugee centres, research, organisation management, and editorial roles of publication, he has a keen interest in building up leadership and team-building skills by taking advantage of acquired inter-cultural experience having lived in Latin America, Africa, and Europe. During his time at the University of Edinburgh, Marco has served as trustee and Senior Strategy Director of The One Scotland Initiative, a student-led charity designed to help facilitate better integration of student communities within the City of Edinburgh. He was elected as the School of Social and Political Science Undergraduate Representative for the term 2018-2019, and is a regular contributor to “El Cortao’, a King's College London affiliated publication on Latin American issues and "The Leviathan", the University of Edinburgh's journal of politics and international relations, serving as Latin America Regional Editor for the later. He has worked as an intern for the European Association of Border Regions, where he researched Cross Border Cooperation (CBC) and EU programs with bordering regions in order to guide policy making. Marco also hosts the podcast “Let’s Taco’ Bout It”, a program that aims to highlight Latin America’s relevance in our world, explore its current challenges, and push for a conversation around Latin America on topics that matter. He has recently been elected as President of the University of Edinburgh's Latin America Forum 2022 - a yearly, academic symposium where solutions for a better future are formulated through a comprehensive understanding of the complexities witnessed and solved in Latin America. Throughout his career, Marco has been awarded the COBIS Award for outstanding individual achievement and contribution to his community and the Edinburgh Award for his commitment, excellence, and impact at the University of Edinburgh. More recently, he volunteers as a COVID-19 Vaccination Team Member for NHS Lothian.