Vidal is professor at the Instituto Tecnologico Autonomo de Mexico (ITAM). He holds a master’s degree in Public Policy from ITAM, and a Ph.D. in Political Science from Stanford University. Romero Co-Directs ITAM’s Centre for the Study of Security, Intelligence and Governance. He is visiting fellow at the Latin America and Caribbean Centre at the London School of Economics and Political Science; affiliated faculty at the Centre on Energy and Natural Resources at ITAM; and Tinker visiting professor at Stanford University. His current research focuses on the determinants of crime and violence, and on the conditions under which energy projects may ignite social conflict. Romero has collaborated on different research projects with the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, The National Endowment for Democracy, the Office of the Mexico’s Presidency, The Wilson Centre, and different private enterprises.