From 2002 to 2005, Carlos was head of citizen monitoring and promotion of participation and then head of communications for Grupo Propuesta Ciudadana (GPC), an institution dedicated to promoting decentralization as a participative process. He is the author of several publications on issues related to rural development, social movements, decentralization, citizen participation and conflicts generated by extractive industries.

In addition to his position with NRGI, he is also a senior researcher for Peru's Center for the Study and Promotion of Development, desco. He works on extractive sector transparency issues with numerous civil society organizations and has been a member of the international board of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative.

Carlos holds a degree in anthropology from the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru and Ph.D. in history from the University of Miami.