Rafael Antonio Loayza Bueno is a political communication specialist, social researcher, and academic with over two decades of experience in democratic governance, public information strategy, and identity politics across Latin America. He has collaborated with leading international organizations, including the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the Electoral Institute of Mexico (INE), and International IDEA, providing strategic advisory and research expertise in electoral processes, polarization, and communication.

He was recently Country Coordinator and Lead Researcher for the Chilean Millennium Nucleus CRISPOL, focused on analyzing political crises and transformations in Bolivia over the last twenty years. In 2024, he developed a strategic communication plan for Conservation International in the Bolivian Amazon, funded by the Bezos Earth Fund. He has also worked on key polarization studies with the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS) and Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES), contributing to national dialogues on democratic culture and ethnic identity.

Rafael has advised Bolivia’s Supreme Electoral Tribunal during multiple election cycles, and participated in the 2024 national election observation mission in Mexico. He was previously Vice Minister of Government Information, Director of Press at both the Presidency and Vice Presidency of Bolivia, and Director of Communication at the Universidad Católica Boliviana.

As a Chevening Scholar, he earned his MSc in Social and Cultural Theory from the University of Bristol and holds a BA in Social Communication from the Universidad Católica Boliviana. He is also a prolific author, having published widely on race, ethnicity, political identity, and electoral communication. He continues to teach social theory and political sociology at UCB and has been a visiting lecturer at institutions including the London School of Economics.

He has presented at international conferences across Europe and Latin America, addressing themes of democratic pluralism, race, and political representation.

He's fluent in English and Spanish.

Rafael.Loayza@eces.eu