Alumna Mariana Campos Influences Policy in Mexico as Director of Think Tank

When she was a little girl, Mariana Campos (MSPPM ‘07) was already thinking about policy problems. “I used to have very profound questions about the development of countries and why some countries are doing fine and some others are not,” she said.

One such moment of questioning came in the 1980s, when her home country of Mexico faced a financial crisis. After the country announced it could not repay its roughly $80 billion debt, many banks cut off new overseas lending, causing a severe recession. Her father lost his life’s savings, and Campos remembers asking herself, "Why do these kinds of things happen?”

Today, Campos seeks to find answers to policy problems as the general director of México Evalúa, a nonpartisan think tank that evaluates government performance, crafts public policies and aims to hold officials accountable. In her role, she manages several research and advocacy agendas and leads a team of about 30 people. Previously, she served for a decade as the coordinator of the think tank’s Public Expenditure and Accountability program.

Her work at México Evalúa has been influential. She collaborated with legislators from different political parties to help implement Mexico’s freedom of information law, a crucial accountability mechanism that allows the public and the media to request records from the government. She’s worked to increase competition in government contracting processes and has also contributed to improvements in the electric power industry. 

Yet, Campos said she values her day-to-day work more than the “great moments” of impact. 

“I analyze public problems, I identify and build solutions, and I give this message about the important problems we have to solve, and the solutions, to a broad range of audiences in Mexico. That is my day-to-day, and I love it,” Campos said.

Using Data and Research to Influence Policy

Among its policy priorities, México Evalúa is advocating for reforms to the country’s policing and criminal justice systems. As part of that work, the think tank is evaluating crime rates across the country and the extent to which criminals do not face punishment, and it’s putting forth proposals to strengthen state and local police forces. 

The think tank published a report this spring highlighting the poor labor conditions of the country’s municipal police forces. The report noted that the vast majority of officers do not receive the federal government’s recommended minimum wage and most do not receive basic benefits. The think tank asserts that improved working conditions will limit turnover among police, incentivize people to join the force and reduce crime and corruption.

To that end, México Evalúa created standards for police working conditions and, beginning in 2021, studied their implementation in the municipalities of Monterrey and Ensenada. The think tank worked with state government officials throughout the process, estimating the number of police officers each state needed, calculating the cost of providing improved services and creating a sustainable financing model, according to a press release.

Going forward, Campos said the think tank wants to advance this issue partly through changes at the federal level. “We think the federal government can actually create some incentives because the federal government in Mexico shares money for local security purposes and is a very important actor in financing,” she said. 

Additionally, México Evalúa aims to issue recommendations regarding the 2026 joint review of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement and is exploring reforms to strengthen the country’s judiciary, improve access to health care and support the energy transition. Policies that reduce the use of cash are another priority, as the country has a “huge informal economy” that supports corruption and crime, Campos said. 

The road to policy change can be long and winding –– and it has become more difficult to navigate in recent years, Campos said. There are now fewer opportunities in Mexico for public comment, she said, which has been one way the think tank has shared its recommendations. “I believe the civic space is closing. The government as a whole is not very friendly right now, especially to nonprofits and think tanks,” she said.

Still, some legislators are willing to meet with México Evalúa and learn about its proposals for reform. To Campos, opposition from people and institutions is a natural part of working in public policy. Creating change, she said, requires listening to and negotiating with detractors and collaborating with supporters. 

“I don't believe in heroes. The impact in policy always comes from the collective,” Campos said. “Sometimes, there's leaders that can inspire and can move forward these kinds of coalitions, but in the end, it's always a coalition of different stakeholders that achieve the goals of change.”

The Path to Heinz College and Beyond

When Campos was in high school, she developed a passion for economics. She was invigorated by discussing the implications of Mexico’s changing economic policies and free trade agreement with the U.S. and Canada. She decided to study economics as an undergraduate student –– she would attend the Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México –– with the goal of pursuing a master’s degree in public policy. 

“Lots of people used to tell me, ‘Don't do policy; you're not going to make any money. You should go into financial engineering,’ and things like that,” Campos said. “But I was really passionate about policy, and I thought, ‘I'm going to do what I like to do.’”

That passion brought Campos to Heinz College, where she joined the master’s program in public policy and management in 2005. Unlike some of her fellow students, Campos’s path to graduation was not linear. She joined the program when she was five months pregnant, taking a year off after her first semester to raise her new baby. Despite the break in her studies, she would graduate with distinction. 

“When I told administrators that I had to interrupt my studies to have my baby, they were like, ‘That's just an intermission. You are going to achieve here what you said you were going to achieve here. We are just here to support you,’” Campos said. “I'm forever thankful for that. At that moment, you need somebody, or an institution, in this case, to trust that you can do it.”

At Heinz College, she learned about think tanks, which were not as prevalent at the time in Mexico as they were in the U.S. After graduating and working for several years in consulting, she joined México Evalúa. The think tank was still in its startup phase –– about 10 people worked there. Since then, Campos has seen the organization grow in size and influence.

‘You are going to use everything you learn’

Heinz College gave Campos skills that she has used throughout her career in public policy. She continues to reference her classes on cost-benefit analysis and geographic information systems, and even now, she still looks at her notes from the “Policy Analysis in Practice” course she took with Professor Harold Miller. 

Looking back, Campos said she explored topics at Heinz that have only become more relevant with time. For example, the technical dilemmas she and her classmates wrestled with in a course on policy and innovation are now particularly pertinent in the age of artificial intelligence, she said. 

The college not only provided a strong foundation in data analytics but also taught soft skills that have supported Campos in more senior positions. 

“You are going to use everything you learn, but in different moments,” she said. “As you go up the ladder, you are going to find yourself needing to understand how to negotiate and navigate organizational change. And then you realize that it's not about your analytical skills –– that's just the first step.”