Latin America
Chávez the Unfriendly Ghost
What will happen to Venezuela now that the caudillo is dead?
As Hugo Chávez’s illness entered its final stage, I began pondering his afterlife. He seemed destined for immediate sanctification, the sort of quasi-religious elevation that greeted Evita Perón. Hugo Chávez will continue to linger for years, I suspect, given the Venezuelan veneration of the military strong man, the caudillo. READ MORE >>
How Global Cities Adapt to Global Change
Moving around (or trying to move around, at least) the city of São Paulo this week, spending time with the State Secretariat of Metropolitan Development, and visiting the port of Santos, it doesn't take too much insight to see that better transportation infrastructure is critical for the future global competitiveness of the entire São Paulo metropolitan region. READ MORE >>
São Paulo Striving to Keep Global Economic Edge
What makes São Paulo a global city? Some might say its size. It is the largest city in South America. The São Paulo metro area, as our forthcoming Global MetroMonitor will reveal, is the 10th largest in the world by population and 13th largest by GDP. Others might point to its role as the finance capital of Latin America. Still others might point to its large international population, which includes the largest number of ethnic Japanese residents outside Japan. READ MORE >>
After Abbottabad: Navy SEALs and American Security
No Easy Day: The Firsthand Account of the Mission that Killed Osama Bin Laden By Mark Owen, with Kevin Maurer (Dutton Adult, 301 pp., $26.95) I. READ MORE >>
Before 2013 begins, catch up on the best of 2012. From now until the New Year, we will be re-posting some of The New Republic’s most thought-provoking pieces of the year. Enjoy. READ MORE >>
The Operator
Before 2013 begins, catch up on the best of 2012. From now until the New Year, we will be re-posting some of The New Republic’s most thought-provoking pieces of the year. Enjoy. READ MORE >>
The New Middle East
The president has found his fall guy, his collective fall guy, for his failure to see that several sort-of U.S. allies were in terrible trouble: The intelligence community, we are now told, was to blame. But the truth is that, if anyone is at fault for misreading the Arab world, it is Barack Obama himself. READ MORE >>
Tunisia and the Lessons of the Iranian Revolution
What happened in Tunisia over the past few days was reminiscent of scenes from Latin America, East Asia, and Eastern Europe in the 1980s and ’90s: people’s power in action. But it is another historical parallel—to Iran in 1979—that has something to teach the West as it figures out how to respond. READ MORE >>
