Hugo Novales Contreras

PhD Student

University of Florida

Hugo Novales is a PhD student in political science at the University of Florida. He investigates diverse routes from authoritarianism to democracy and how they shape regime performance and stability, as well as democratic backsliding that occurs without a strong executive, drawing comparative evidence from Central America and beyond. Before joining UF, he earned an MA in International Relations from the University of Chicago, an MA in Development Studies from Universidad del Valle, and a BA in Political Science from Universidad Rafael Landívar, both in Guatemala City.