Graphicanos
View a slideshow of Graphicanos prints below. Indiana is better known for the Indy 500 and sports teams than for a thriving art culture, so most art lovers would be surprised to stumble upon the cutting-edge exhibit of serigraphic prints—a contemporary art form that uses block-size ink stencils to print images onto canvas—on display this … Read more
Canada-EU Trade: Free Trade Fever Up North
Just recently, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper came to Montreal’s Board of Trade to laud the benefits of the Canada-Europe Trade Agreement (CETA). Choosing Montreal was a recognition of the support provided by the city’s business leaders and the Québec government for the free trade accord. Sitting at the head table was a former Conservative … Read more
Energy in Mexico: The Politics of Reform
While Washington has struggled with political gridlock, its southern neighbor has achieved notable legislative success over the past 12 months—thanks to a negotiating mechanism called the Pacto por México. Established soon after President Enrique Peña Nieto took office in December 2012, the mechanism was responsible for a series of major reforms in Mexico that had … Read more
Cuba: Port Upgrades and Free-Trade Zones
When Latin American and Caribbean heads of state gather in Cuba in January 2014 for the Comunidad de Estados Latinoamericanos y Caribeños (Community of Latin American and Caribbean States— CELAC) summit, the agenda will include a side trip to Mariel Bay. There, Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff and Cuban President Raúl Castro will cut the ribbon … Read more
Dispatches: Xaltianguis, Mexico
View a slideshow from Xaltianguis, Mexico below. Angelica Romero, a middle-aged mother of two, views her reflection in the bedroom mirror. She tucks her blue T-shirt into her jeans, pulls her hair back in a ponytail, and slips a tan baseball cap onto her head. In black letters across the brim, it reads: “Citizen Police.” … Read more
Civic Innovator: Rolando Humire, Chile
Rolando Humire Coca, the political representative of approximately 4,000 Indigenous atacameño people in Chile, is a busy man. The 32-year-old biochemist (and beer brewer) serves as president of three local organizations, including the Consejo de los Pueblos Atacameños—a political body of 17 local Indigenous communities known as ayllus. Humire’s activism was fueled by his achievements … Read more
Business Innovator: Ruth DeGolia, United States
View a video interview with Ruth DeGolia below. Ruth DeGolia, 31, is living proof that an idealistic college student can make a difference. As founder and executive director of Mercado Global, a Brooklyn, New York–based nonprofit now in its ninth year, DeGolia and her team have earned the respect of both businesses and philanthropic organizations … Read more
Politics Innovator: Rashida Tlaib, United States
Rashida Tlaib is used to overcoming obstacles—just like Detroit, the city she was born in and now represents in the Michigan State Legislature. The eldest of 14 children born to Palestinian immigrant parents, and the first in her family to graduate from high school, Tlaib (pronounced Ta-LEEB) is the first Muslim woman to serve as … Read more
Arts Innovator: Luis Antonio Vilchez, Peru
Watch a video of Luis Antonio Vilchez dancing in Times Square below. Passing through New York’s Times Square one winter day in 2010, Lima native Luis Antonio Vilchez noticed a group of street percussionists playing a familiar Afro-Peruvian rhythm—and immediately decided to join them. Soon, a large crowd gathered as Vilchez, wearing a button-down shirt … Read more
The revelations have hurt U.S. diplomatic and economic interests.
Governments are supposed to protect their nations from foreign threats, and good intelligence is critical to that task. And while spying on enemies is not particularly controversial, things get more complicated when clandestine intelligence operations are directed at friends and partners. There has to be a careful balancing of benefits and potential for damage—especially if … Read more
Leaders’ reactions to the revelations are really about domestic politics. Everybody spies, even on allies.
The reported snooping by the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) on world leaders is a rich teachable moment. It shows the underside of international relations. Spying on other governments—including friendly ones—is a pillar of modern foreign policy and a vital tool to protect against modern security threats like international crime, terrorism, cyber-attacks, drug trafficking, climate … Read more
Ask the Experts: Press Freedom
Sam Quiñones answers: One effect is certainly to have strengthened the hand of institutions— government as well as corporate. Spokespeople for these agencies and companies may object. But increasingly, newspaper newsrooms have been cut back so substantially that they no longer have enough people to adequately cover anything but the institutions that are set up … Read more
Venezuela’s Electricity Deficit
Venezuela is currently suffering its second electricity emergency in three years. The first was declared by the government in February 2010. Closings of major roads, public complaints in the media and frequent outage reports on the #Sinluz (No light) Twitter account paint a grim picture of daily life in Venezuela. The reasons are fairly straightforward: … Read more
Is Brazil the New Regional Champion of Democracy?
Addressing the United Nations General Assembly in September 2010, U.S. President Barack Obama appealed to rising democracies around the world to help spread the democratic message, declaring that “we need your voices to speak out,” and reminding them that “part of the price of our own freedom is standing up for the freedom of others.”1 … Read more
Sustainable Energy Access for the Poor
For decades, lending to the poor meant microcredit, and energy related projects rarely fit into that model. The few attempts at intersecting energy and microfinance faltered for various reasons, ranging from the poor energy technologies available at the time to an aversion among microfinance institutions (MFIs) to move to a broader energy-lending program. Even in … Read more
