Miguel Angel Lara Otaola

Dr. Miguel Angel Lara Otaola is a practitioner and scholar with extensive experience in the field of democracy and elections. He has worked for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Overseas Development Institute in the UK, the Electoral Integrity Project at the Universities of Sydney and Harvard. He was Head of Mission for Mexico and Central America and Senior Democracy Assessment Specialist for the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance. He is currently Chief Technical Secretary for Mexico’s Electoral Tribunal and International Advisory Board Member for the Electoral Integrity Project.

Dr. Lara Otaola holds a PhD in Politics from the University of Sussex, an MSc in Comparative Politics from the London School of Economics and an MPA in Public Administration and Public Policy from the Tecnológico de Monterrey. He has participated in the design and implementation of over 30 technical assistance, training and election observation missions in 17 countries in the Americas, Europe, Asia and Australia. He has delivered over 120 conferences, is a frequent radio and TV commentator and has over 70 publications in outlets including Newsweek, Foreign Affairs Latinoamérica and The Washington Post.