Leandro Simón Aristeguieta Pirela is a first year PhD student focusing on diplomatic relations between Venezuela and the United States, the oil and gas industry, and the Latin American Cold War. He is interested in the role played by trade between Latin America and the United States in the conflict and how economic concerns influenced and drove political decision-making. Prior to attending Indiana University-Bloomington, Leandro earned an MA in History from Florida Atlantic University and a BA in History and a BS in Communications from Clarion University of Pennsylvania. Leandro also worked as a journalist in northwestern Pennsylvania, covering local government, education, and crime. Born in Venezuela, Leandro has lived in Puerto Rico, Tennessee, Pennsylvania, and Florida.

His current research combines digital methods–specifically topic modeling and corpus linguistics–with traditional close reading to better understand how Venezuelan poltiicians and political exiles in the early 20th century understood the changes happening to Venezuela’s political economy due to the rise of the oil industry.

CV

Email: laristeg@iu.edu