Salvador Maldonado D. in Anthropology from the Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana, Unidad Iztapalapa. Post-doctorate in Anthropology at the University of Barcelona, Spain. His area of specialty is the study of the state, citizenship and democracy through the lenses of security, violence and illegality. He currently co-directs an international project on activism in contexts of violence in the state of Michoacán, funded by ESRC, UK. He has been advisor and consultant in several federal and state government institutions. He is the author of two books on violence in Mexico and Michoacán. A new book on security, armed groups and organized crime in Michoacán is currently in press. He has more than 40 articles and book chapters in international journals and books as a result of his research. He has published several in-depth articles in magazines such as Nexos online, newspapers Milenio, El Economista, Excelsior, etc. He has been interviewed in television media such as 15 de Carlos Puig, Milenio Televisión. Radio UNAM, Canal del Congreso, etc. Among his most important awards: Level II of the SNI, award for best research by INAH, 2011, Iberoamerican award for best essay, awarded by UNAM, 2011 and an honorable mention for best article at ITAM. She has participated in national and international juries. He is a member of evaluation committees in the Conacyt and reviewer in international journals.