A Slogan is Not a Policy
Andrea G
Moisés Naím / World Energy & Oil
Efforts to put America First tend to spark episodes of economic isolationism and hamper trade cooperation. U.S. Energy Dominance works better as a slogan than a policy.
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What FIFA and the Vatican have in common
Andrea G
Moisés Naím / El País
Few human activities arouse as much passion as religion and sports. Within Christianity – the world’s largest religion – the Catholic Church has the greatest number of adherents, while soccer has the most fans of any sport. The Vatican rules the Catholic Church, and FIFA – the International Federation of Association Football – leads global soccer. Both are important institutions even though Pope John Paul II once famously clarified that “out of all the unimportant things, football is the most important.”
Read MoreTwo explosive reports
Andrea G
Moisés Naím / El País
Last week, two specialized reports were independently released. At first glance they both appear to be mind-numbing texts filled with boring and esoteric information that is of little interest to the general public. But these two were different. And not because of their literary elegance, but for their disturbing conclusions.
Read MoreIt wasn’t the caravan or the economy, it was the women
Andrea G
Moisés Naím / El País
Donald Trump bet on the caravan and lost the House of Representatives. While the president was busy using every campaign stop to frighten his supporters about an imminent invasion by a caravan of Central American refugees, American women were getting out the vote for women candidates.
Read MoreForgiving Trump
Andrea G
Moisés Naím / El País
On Tuesday, millions of Americans will cast their votes for Donald Trump. Technically, of course, they won’t be voting directly for the sitting president, but rather for the senators, representatives, governors and state legislators that he supports. Yet this election will undoubtedly be a referendum on Donald Trump.
Read MoreA Good Idea in need of Global Champions
Andrea G
Moisés Naím / World Energy & Oil
Awareness of the need to combat pollution created by waste is slow-spreading and companies still lack the incentives to replace their use-and-discard models in favor of use-recycle-and-reuse ones. Large-scale, adequately incentivized and state-supported attempts to drastically alter the way we currently create and dispose of waste are still few and far between.
Read MoreMexico’s AMLO and Brazil’s Bolsonaro: very different... and very similar
Andrea G
Moisés Naím / El País
One has already been elected, the other looks certain to be. The first is president-elect of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador (known by his acronym AMLO), and the second is Jair Bolsonaro (often referred to as Bolso), the front runner in Brazil’s upcoming second-round election. Their success says a lot about how the world is changing.
Read MoreVenezuela’s Suicide: Lessons From a Failed State
Andrea G
Moisés Naím and Francisco Toro / Foreign Affairs
Consider two Latin American countries. The first is one of the region’s oldest and strongest democracies. It boasts a stronger social safety net than any of its neighbors and is making progress on its promise to deliver free health care and higher education to all its citizens. It is a model of social mobility and a magnet for immigrants from across Latin America and Europe. The press is free, and the political system is open; opposing parties compete fiercely in elections and regularly alternate power peacefully. It sidestepped the wave of military juntas that mired some Latin American countries in dictatorship. Thanks to a long political alliance and deep trade and investment ties with the United States, it serves as the Latin American headquarters for a slew of multinational corporations. It has the best infrastructure in South America. It is still unmistakably a developing country, with its share of corruption, injustice, and dysfunction, but it is well ahead of other poor countries by almost any measure.
Read MoreWhat if money disappears?
Andrea G
Moisés Naím / El País
What’s going to happen to money? Until recently the idea of doing without bills and coins seemed like science fiction. But today, it’s a reality. In many countries, money – as we know it – is becoming obsolete. Wallets are being replaced by our ubiquitous smartphones, while banknotes and metal coins are being replaced by digital ones and zeros.
Read MoreIt started with porn
Andrea G
Moisés Naím / El País
At the end of last year a series of pornographic videos began showing up on the internet. This is nothing new, but these were different because they starred some of the world’s top actresses and singers. Naturally, they went viral: millions of people around the world saw them. Very quickly it became clear that Scarlett Johansson, Taylor Swift, Katy Perry, and other artists were not the real protagonists of the sex videos, but rather the victims of a new technology that – using artificial intelligence and other advanced digital tools – allows their creators to insert anyone’s face into a very credible video.
Read MoreInteresting Times Ahead
Andrea G
Moisés Naím / El País
Political instability distracts us from economic challenges while economic crises distract us from our political problems
Read MoreTechnology and Mother Nature
Andrea G
Moisés Naím / World Energy & Oil
Most of energy industry disruption has come from new technologies. This will continue. But a source of turmoil far more potent looms large.
Read MoreLópez Obrador's Dangerous Temptation
Andrea G
Moisés Naím / El País
Will Mexico’s president-elect try to change the Constitution in order to stay in power?
Read MoreAn opaque world
Andrea G
Moisés Naím / El País
Crimea was not invaded by the Russian Army, but rather by armed civilian militias. In February 2014, they rose up against the Ukrainian government in order to “free the region” and annex it to the Russian motherland. That, anyway, is the official version of events according to the Kremlin-controlled media. Never mind that there is irrefutable proof that the “patriots” who took Crimea by force were, in fact, Russian troops who were ordered to remove any identifying badges and insignia from their uniforms, tanks, and equipment just before the invasion.
Read MoreHow America Became a Divided Nation of the Protected and the Unprotected
Andrea G
Moisés Naím / The Washington Post
U.S. Department of Education secretary Betsy Devos has reorganized the unit charged with investigating fraud at for-profit colleges. Ending these investigations have left students to bare the burden of these problematic behaviors.
Read MoreKleptocracy and Kakistocracy
Andrea G
Moisés Naím / El País
Those in power now have much graver consequences due to globalization, technology, and the complexity of society. The kleptocracy and kakistocracy feed back on each other.
Read MoreTwo Paradoxes
Andrea G
Moisés Naím / El País
The world seems to be growing more paradoxical where democratic practices are becoming more popular among dictators. Democracy gives them something repression can’t - a modicum of legitimacy.
Read MoreWhy Nicolás Maduro Clings to Power
Andrea G
Moisés Naím and Francisco Toro / The Atlantic
Maduro has no clue how to reverse any of the multiple crises he has set off. At this point, the goal of staying in power is just to be in power.
Read MoreNicolás Maduro and the Banality of Evil
Andrea G
Moisés Naím / El País
A blow-by-blow dissection of the statements made by the Venezuelan president.
Read MoreThe Secret Memo to Raúl Castro
Andrea G
Moisés Naím / El País
A fake memo written to Cuban President Raúl Castro proposing action in relations with Venezuela.
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