The University of Arizona Press

Date: Friday, October 2, 2026

Time: 11 a.m., MST

Place: COOR HALL 6631, Arizona State University, 976 S. Forest Mall, Tempe, AZ

Reservations: Available virtually with RSVP here.

Melissa Linton, author of El Salvador Reborn, will speak on “Transnational Ties and Struggles for Justice: El Salvador and the U.S. Post-1992” on October 2. This series is held by the Arizona State University Center for Latina/os and American Politics Research. In this lecture, Melissa Linton will explore the evolving transnational relationship between El Salvador and the United States since the end of the civil war in 1992. Using her first book, El Salvador Reborn, Linton will focus on how this relationship shapes the country’s internal political struggles, particularly through the lens of reproductive policies and environmental laws that threaten to privatize vital resources like water. This event is both in person and online. The RSVP can be found here.

Mellissa Linton-Villafranco is an assistant professor of women and gender studies at Arizona State University’s School of Social Transformation, where she also coordinates the LGBT Studies Certificate. Her research focuses on Central America, reproductive justice, and ethnic studies. She has published on transborder activism and fetal personhood laws. She holds a PhD in ethnic studies from UC San Diego and a BA from USC.

About the book:

El Salvador Reborn explores the criminalization of abortion and environmental activism in postwar El Salvador by focusing on two key organizations—Agrupación Ciudadana por la Despenalización del Aborto and Foro del Agua. Author Mellissa Linton-Villafranco makes the case for a holistic understanding of life that integrates land, body, and community sovereignty, promoting an expansive conception of reproductive justice by braiding abortion and environmental movements in El Salvador.