Contributed by Charles R. Venator-Santiago (Director, UConnPRSI)             The UConn Puerto Rican Studies Initiative for Civic Engagement and Public Policy is a research initiative housed in El Instituto. This initiative is funded by the Connecticut General Assembly and is tasked with providing research support to community-based organizations, community leaders, academics, and elected officials. Central to […]

Contributed by Apoliana da Conceição dos Santos What happens when graduate students from different departments come together to share their research, questions, and passions? ELIN’s Graduate Research Forum, held on March 1st, 2025, created just such a space — one filled with insightful presentations, lively discussion, and meaningful connections. The forum featured a wide range […]

Contributed by Olin Green The Hidden Dimensions of Road Safety: Exploring Socioeconomic and Built Environment Factors in Latin American and Minority Communities      Marginalized groups are overrepresented in fatal car crashes, an inequity likely exacerbated by the intersectionality of location-based and socioeconomic factors that affect vulnerable communities. For instance, low-income neighborhoods with limited access to […]

Contributed by Javier Garcia Contradictions in State-Indigenous Relations: Reconciling Constitutional Recognition of Indigenous Cosmovisions with Human Rights Violations in Ecuador and Colombia Abstract This research examines the contradictions in state-Indigenous relations in Andean Latin America, with a focus on Ecuador and Colombia as comparative case studies. While both countries constitutionally recognize Indigenous rights—including the principle […]

Contributed by Dr. Lisa Werkmeister Rozas Deinstitutionalization of Child Welfare in Peru With the help of El lnstituto’s Seed grant in 2024, I conducted a small pilot study. As a result of this study I was able to connect to state officials in Peru and through my collaborations with NGOs am proposing education and training for […]

Contributed by Charles R. Venator-Santiago Puerto Rico, Puerto Ricans|Connecticut Creating a Collective Agenda Connecticut Legislative Office Building Saturday, 11 January 2025 As the UConnPRSI has documented, Puerto Ricans consistently experience the highest inequalities among all racial and ethnic groups in the state in the state of Connecticut. The goal of this inaugural summit was to […]

Contributed by Charles R. Venator-Santiago               Congress possesses the constitutional power to unilaterally enact legislation abolishing birthright citizenship in the United States territories. While Congress cannot unilaterally enact legislation stripping persons born in a U.S. territory of their birthright citizenship, it can enact a statute that prevents persons from […]

Contributed by Bessy Reyna  I can’t remember when I first learned about El Instituto. Sadly, when I was a grad student at UCONN (1970-72 MA) and a PhD candidate later, there were no Latino groups I could be involved with. The Puerto Rican Center was the first of the student centers to be created. I […]

Contributed by Anne Gebelein  El Instituto and the Human Rights Institute hosted filmmakers Pamela Yates and Paco de Onís February 12th for a showing of their new documentary “Borderland: The Line Within”.   Pamela Yates is the Founder and Creative Director, and Paco de Onís the Executive Director and Executive Producer of Skylight, a non-profit media […]

Contributed by Apoliana da Conceição dos Santos With the support of travel funding of El Instituto, I attended and presented at the II Congresso Nacional de Linguística Aplicada (CONALA) & I Congresso Internacional de Linguagem, Literatura e Discurso (CILLID) in Maranhão, Brazil. My presentation, “XIX-Century Brazilian and Cuban Racial Realities: Aluísio Azevedo’s Mulatto and Manzano’s […]