Bio
Dr. Erich de la Fuente is a senior research fellow at the Adam Smith Center for Economic Freedom at Florida International University. He was the lead author of the Latin America Country Risk Index and Analysis, which identified and analyzed the trends of Latin America’s principal political, economic, social, and international risks. He is currently leading the third edition of this research initiative, which has expanded to include 18 countries across the Americas and Europe.
Dr. de la Fuente is also an adjunct professor in the Department of Politics and International Relations at Florida International University, where he teaches courses on International Relations of Latin America, Politics of Latin America, International Organizations, Reputation and Crisis Management in Global Affairs, and U.S.-Russia Relations.
Erich has conducted field research and served as a consultant in Argentina, Armenia, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jordan, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Portugal, Russia, Rwanda, Spain, Ukraine, and Venezuela. His areas of expertise include political risk assessment, democratization, disinformation, news media freedom, strategic communications, crisis management, and public opinion campaigns.
Dr. de la Fuente earned his Ph.D. in Governance and Policy Analysis from Maastricht University. He holds an M.A. in Latin American Studies from Georgetown University's Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service and a B.A. in International Relations from Florida International University. He is the author of the book “Limiting Media Freedom in Democratic States: How Governments Use Instruments to Curtail News Media Freedom”.
As a political analyst, Dr. de la Fuente frequently appears as an expert on television and radio news programs in both English and Spanish. He is fluent in English, Spanish, and Portuguese and proficient in Italian and Russian.