Eduardo A. Gamarra is a tenured full professor of political science in the Department of Politics and International Relations at Florida International University (FIU). He has been at FIU since 1986, where he also directed the Latin American and Caribbean Center (LACC) from 1994 to 2007. As director of LACC, Gamarra engaged in research and public policy initiatives, academic exchanges, fundraising, and related activities throughout Latin America and the Caribbean. In February 2016, he was appointed founding director of the Latino Public Opinion Forum at the Steven J. Green School of International and Public Affairs.
Gamarra earned his PhD in political science from the University of Pittsburgh in 1987, under the mentorship of James M. Malloy, a leading expert on Bolivia and the Andes. With Malloy, he coauthored his first book, Revolution and Reaction: Bolivia, 1964–1984. He has since authored, coauthored, or coedited twelve books and nearly one hundred scholarly articles on Latin American and Caribbean affairs. His most recent book, forthcoming in 2017 and coauthored with Brian Fonseca, examines the development of strategic culture across the Americas.
He has served as principal consultant on security sector reform, foreign policy, campaign strategy, and strategic communications to several heads of state and government in the Americas, including Leonel Fernández of the Dominican Republic and Laurent Lamothe of Haiti.
Since 1986, Gamarra has taught courses on democracy and authoritarianism, drug trafficking and illicit industries, political violence and revolution, human rights, political culture, campaigns and elections, and related topics. In the current academic year, he is teaching graduate and undergraduate seminars on the Caribbean and South America. In addition to his teaching and research, Gamarra regularly lectures at universities, think tanks, and policy institutions in Latin America, the United States, Europe, and Asia.
He has also served as a consultant for several branches of the U.S. government, including the U.S. Agency for International Development, the Department of Defense, the Department of State, and the Department of Energy. Much of this work has focused on the Andes, particularly Colombia. He has testified before the U.S. Congress on policy toward the region, especially in the areas of counternarcotics and security policy.
Gamarra is a frequent commentator for international media outlets, including ABC News, CBS News, Fox News, CNN, CNN en Español, BBC News, Reuters, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Radio France Internationale, NTN24, Univision, Telemundo, Caracol, RCN, National Public Radio, W Radio (Colombia), The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Miami Herald, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, El Tiempo (Bogotá), El Espectador, Semana (Colombia), El Colombiano, Clarín (Buenos Aires), Folha de São Paulo, El Mercurio (Chile), La Razón (Bolivia), The Village Voice, Al Jazeera, and Sky News.
He is the founder of Integrated Communications and Research (ICR), a consulting firm with clients throughout Latin America and the Caribbean. His recent consulting has focused on market research and public opinion polling, often applied to political campaign strategy, messaging, and public policy decision-making, particularly in security. Most recently, his polling has examined Latino voting patterns in the United States. Through an alliance with Adsmovil, a mobile advertising firm, he directed a tracking poll of Latino voting during the 2016 presidential elections.
Gamarra serves on academic and private-sector boards across the Americas, including the Global Foundation for Democracy and Development (Washington, D.C., and Santo Domingo), Tenacitas (Miami), Burson-Marsteller (Miami), and La Casa de la Madre y el Niño (Bogotá). He is an elected member of Bolivia’s National Academy of Sciences.
Eduardo Gamarra was an event speaker at the Dialogue.