Faculty Advisor
Mark Mooney
Author Biographical Statement
Daly Santana-Rodda is a Research Assistant at FIU’s Jack D. Gordon Institute for Public Policy and a proud FIU magna cum laude graduate of Political Science. She is an honor society member of Phi Beta Kappa and Pi Sigma Alpha and earned certificates in Latin American and Caribbean Studies and National Security. Daly was part of a team which proudly represented FIU in the Atlantic Council's Cyber 9/12 Strategy Challenge. She also interned with Marco Rubio’s office which helped her gain insights into public policy. Daly is committed to contributing positively to her field of study and local community.
Abstract
Strategic competition between the U.S. and the People’s Republic of China (PRC) continues to attract the international community’s attention. The PRC seeks to expand its influence in the Global South, especially in South America, by increasing its critical mineral mining industry in the region. Throughout this report, we analyze data on state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and private Chinese mineral companies’ investments in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) through a World Systems Theory (WST) and state-corporate criminological lens while utilizing Geospatial Information Systems (i.e., ArcGIS software) to geo-locate mining investment hotspots. In addition, this report analyzes how these minerals modernize the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) military weaponry and vehicles.
DOI
10.25148/FIUURJ.3.1.15
Recommended Citation
Santana-Rodda, Daly; Camplone, Leila; and Mooney, Mark
(2025)
"China’s Investment in LAC Critical Minerals Helps Its Military Modernization,"
FIU Undergraduate Research Journal: Vol. 3:
Iss.
1, Article 15.
DOI: 10.25148/FIUURJ.3.1.15
Available at:
https://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/undergraduate-journal/vol3/iss1/15