Contact Information
Urbana, IL 61801
Office Hours
Biography
Alejandro Pocoroba is a PhD student in Sociology at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. He holds a master's degree in Social Development from El Colegio de la Frontera Norte (El Colef) and a bachelor's degree in Sociology from the Universidad Autónoma de Aguascalientes (UAA).
He was an Equity Scholar at NORC at the University of Chicago (USA, 2025), previously served as a Research Fellow in the Drug Policy Program at the Centro de Investigación y Docencia Económicas (Mexico, 2023), and as a visiting researcher at the Centro de Estudios Legales y Sociales (Argentina, 2019).
His research focuses on violence, militarization, and migration in border regions, drawing on quantitative and qualitative methods.
Research Interests
Sociology of Violence | Security Studies | Criminal Groups | Border Studies | Migration | Latin America
Education
MA in Social Development, El Colegio de la Frontera Norte, Mexico (2020)
BA in Sociology, Universidad Autónoma de Aguascalientes, Mexico (2015)
Visiting Student
- Graduate Courses, The University of Chicago, United States (2024)
- Graduate Exchange Program, Universidad Nacional Tres de Febrero, Argentina (2019)
- Undergraduate Exchange Program, Universidad de Granada, Spain (2014)
Grants
- Secretaría de Ciencia, Humanidades, Tecnología e Innovación (Secihti), Government of Mexico — Doctoral Fellow (2026-2030)
Courses Taught
- SOC 375 - Criminal Justice System
Highlighted Publications
Peer-reviewed journal articles
• Pocoroba, Alejandro, Laura H. Atuesta, and Javier Treviño-Rangel. 2024. "The unbearable uncertainty of being on the front: Street-level military in the Mexican war on drugs." Latin American Politics and Society https://doi.org/10.1017/lap.2024.20
• Ospina-Escobar, Angélica and Alejandro Pocoroba. 2023. "Confinement with No Rights. Perceptions of Inmates’ Relatives Regarding Measures for COVID-19 Control Implemented in Mexican Prisons." Victims & Offenders https://doi.org/10.1080/15564886.2022.2110060
• Maza Díaz Cortes, Octavio and Alejandro Pocoroba. 2018. "Cruce de caminos: trabajo informal y economía social." Caleidoscopio, Revista Semestral de Ciencias Sociales y Humanidades https://doi.org/10.33064/38crscsh916
Book chapters
• Pocoroba, Alejandro and Andrés Sumano.“Tortura en el Operativo Conjunto Chihuahua 2008-2010” Forthcoming In Sarabia, Cecilia (coord) Derechos humanos, denuedos para su observancia. MX El Colef
• Pocoroba, Alejandro and Erick Morales. 2023. “Crónicas de la violencia en Colima” In Pasillas, Omar (coord) Repensar los escenarios de la seguridad pública en el contexto del Siglo XXI. MX UQRoo
• Pocoroba, Alejandro. 2023. “Las fuerzas armadas durante la pandemia por COVID-19 en América Latina. El caso de México, Honduras y Chile” In Guerra, Edgar and Atuesta, Laura (comps) Drogas y violencias en tiempos de pandemia. Consecuencias y respuestas. MX: Programa de Política de Drogas
• Pocoroba, Alejandro. 2021. “(Re)activación de la Guardia Nacional en México” In Benítez, Raúl and Gómez, Elisa (eds) Fuerzas Armadas, Guardia Nacional y violencia en México. MX: Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung
Professional Memberships
- Member since 2026, Midwest Sociological Society
- Member since 2026, Red de investigadores en burocracia a nivel de calle en América Latina
- Member since 2026, Sociedad Mexicana de Sociología
- Member since 2024, Conflict Research Society