Dra. María Teresa Sierra, is a research professor at the Center for Research and Advanced Studies in Social Anthropology (CIESAS) in Mexico City. She is member of Mexico’s National Researchers’ System (SNI 3) and member of the Mexican Academy of Science. She received a Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Paris VIII. Her areas of research include: Legal and political anthropology gender, violence, and human rights; identity politics and cultural diversity. She is member and founder of the Latin American Network of Legal Anthropology and was president of the Sixth Congress, held in Mexico. Her publications include the book Discurso, cultura y poder (CIESAS) (1992), the edition of the book “Haciendo justicia”. Interlegalidad, derecho y género en regiones indígenas (2004), the book, Neoindigenismo en tiempos del PAN: Identidad, poder y legalidad coordinated with Aida Hernandez and Sarela Paz (2004), both published by CIESAS and Porrúa eds, the book Justicia, diversidad y pueblos indígenas en tiempos de globalización (with Magdalena Gomez, Victoria Chanaut and Hector Ortiz) (CIESAS-FLACSO, Ecuador) 2011, and Justicias indígenas y Estado. Violencias contemporáneas (With Aida Hernandez and Rachel Sieder CIESAS FLACSO, 2013.

She has coordinated several research projects, most recently with Aida Hernandez Globalización, derechos indígenas y justicia: una perspectiva desde el género y el poder that deals with the study of state multiculturalism and its impact in the areas of justice and collective identities in Mexico and Guatemala. As part of this research project she studied indigenous jurisdictions and autonomy in the Community Police of Guerrero, Mexico. Currently she is involved in a collective research project Project Women and Law in Latin America: Justice, Security and Legal Pluralism, coordinated by Rachel Sieder. Within this project she develops a collaborative research on Indigenous women, security and access to justice in the Coast – Mountain of Guerrero, Mexico.