A booming market for charlatans
We have to accept that democracy requires more effort than just casting a vote every few years
The Global Observer
What FIFA and the Vatican have in common
Both institutions have a long history of unacceptable behavior on the part of some of their members
Two explosive reports
While appearing to be of little interest to the general public at first glance, the institutions that sponsored them and the credibility of their authors make these warnings difficult to ignore
It wasn’t the caravan or the economy, it was the women
While Trump was busy frightening supporters about an imminent refugee invasion, American women were getting out the vote for women candidates
Forgiving Trump
In January 2016, Donald Trump said: “I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody and I wouldn’t lose voters.” When Americans vote in the mid-term election this Tuesday, we’ll see if that is really true.
Mexico’s AMLO and Brazil’s Bolsonaro: very different... and very similar
Two rising Latin American leaders have figured out voters are hungry for messiah figures, not lectures about the institutions that limit presidential power
What if money disappears?
Relying on colored pieces of paper for our transactions will soon become a thing of the past
It started with porn
Deepfake is a new and powerful weapon in the arsenal available to the merchants of lies
Interesting times ahead
Political instability distracts us from economic challenges while economic crises distract us from our political problems
Four American Tragedies
The US government is failing to protect its citizens from the predatory behavior of some corporations. Irresponsibly lax gun control, the opioid epidemic, pharmaceutical price gouging and the ravages of climate change are just four examples
López Obrador’s dangerous temptation
Will Mexico’s president-elect try to change the Constitution in order to stay in power?
The secret memo to Raúl Castro
“We have managed to control the nation with the largest oil reserves on the planet without firing a single shot. And we have done it without the world realizing that the Venezuelan government’s most important decisions are made by us”
Two paradoxes
Hackers and whistle-blowers have pulled back the curtain on the international financial system while autocrats go out of their way to stage fake elections
Education: The world’s biggest scam?
The problem is no longer the lack of schooling but rather that once children get there, they do not learn
How to Dismantle a Superpower
The New World Order will be defined by those who fill the power gaps left by the United States
Venezuela
Maduro doesn’t matter
He is simply the useful idiot, the puppet of those who really rule Venezuela
FICTION
America’s Second Civil War
Some novels make us feel that situations that today appear to be implausible might not be so far-fetched after all
Kleptocracy and kakistocracy
In a kleptocracy all high-level government officials are complicit and their priority is to enrich themselves, and use their accumulated wealth to perpetuate themselves in power
An opaque world
The best antidote to covert meddling is an independent media, but that too is being stealthily meddled with
What Zapatero Knows
Venezuelans want to vote, but not in elections where traps and tricks will guarantee the continuity of this government
While we were not paying attention
Thanks to energy independence and nuclear weapons policy, the illusion that the US does not need the rest of the world may look more real than ever to lawmakers
Five Ideas that Trump Killed
Trump has put an end to the idea that corruption and nepotism at the highest levels of government can only flourish in banana republics
US Politics
Donald Trump’s three wars... and those that are yet to come
The variety, intensity, vindictiveness, and, at times, the banality of the conflicts coming from Trump are not normal
US Politics
Is Trump Really Crazy?
The president exhibits the classic symptoms of narcissistic personality disorder
Opioid Crisis
Dying white Americans
A new study documents why mortality is higher among poorly educated whites
Poltics
Is War Between the United States and China Inevitable?
International hegemony of the Western powers, namely the US and Europe, could be coming to an end
Arab world
Asphyxiated Arabs
In three years it will be necessary to create 60 million jobs for young people in the region
Politics
Why Do Dictators like to Appear Democratic?
Democracy contributes the most precious ingredient for tyrants: legitimacy
Climate Change
Exit the United States and enter… who?
Leadership in the fight against global warming is moving from the White House to Europe and China
The anxious euphoria of Davos
Before, companies needed financial, human, technological and brand capital to succeed. From here on they will also need digital capital
US Politics
What can Trump learn from Al Capone and Nixon?
What typically brings down people in power is the cover up, not the crime
The war on truth
We have more information than ever before, but its veracity is often in doubt. In this century it is likely that cyberwars will be fought over who controls data and information
This is not normal
Around the world, governing is becoming more difficult and, in many cases, impossible
Economic inequality: What’s new?
Since 2010, the share of Americans aged between 18 and 29 who hold a favorable view of capitalism has fallen from 68% to 45%
Politician-eating beasts
Once the political system in some countries learns how to toss out a head of state, it seems to develop a taste for it, and starts doing it again and again
Cherry blossoms and nervous bankers
While there is consensus that the capitalist system needs major reforms, there is no agreement on what these reforms should be
Six toxins that weaken democracy
The electoral successes of Brexit, Trump and Chávez have some revealing commonalities
Islam by numbers
In Muslim countries incomes are lower than in the rest of the world, while illiteracy is higher and life expectancy lower. Why?
Who do you trust?
We don’t believe the government or the experts, but we do believe anonymous social media posts
Nicolás Maduro and the banality of evil
This article is a blow-by-blow dissection of the statements made by the Venezuelan president in a recent op-ed published in EL PAÍS