Welcome — I’m José E. Múzquiz, I'm a Political Scientist and Cultural Studies Scholar. Currently I am a Ph.D. Candidate in Political Science, University of Southern California

I study identity, ideology, and power in the United States and Mexico. My work explores the complexities of Latino conservatism, disaggregating right-wing support by national origin to show how masculinity, ideology, and identity shape political behavior—especially among Trump-aligned Latinos.

I also examine how undocumented immigrants manage fear, tracing how the risk of deportation reshapes mentalities and strategies of survival.

My book project, The Mexicanization of Baja California, tells the story of how the once-contested Mexico-US border state was reimagined as unquestionably Mexican through state policy, symbolism, and historical narrative.

In Mexico, I use audit studies to test how elected officials respond to racialized constituents, using names associated with Indigenous, mestiza, and white identities to reveal patterns of bias.

Trained to move across national and disciplinary borders, I bring together statistical analysis, interviews, archival research, ethnography, theory building, survey design, and audit experiments to make sense of political life in the U.S. and Mexico.

Photo by Cindy Zetina