Michael Álvarez studied political science and worked as a freelance journalist. He was press spokesperson for the Heinrich Böll Foundation in Berlin for several years. In 2008 he set up the Heinrich Böll Foundation’s Cono Sur office in Santiago de Chile and expanded the work in the Cono Sur region, and headed the office there until July 2014.

From August 2014 to 2023 he was again press spokesperson for the foundation in Berlin. Since May 2023 he has been head of the Buenos Aires office of the Heinrich Böll Foundation for Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay (under construction).