Jair Bolsonaro threatens us all
MIDTERM ELECTIONS IN the United States have shaken national politics, but they are hardly this season’s most important message from angry voters. That message came from Brazil. On Oct. 28, a right-wing former military officer, Jair Bolsonaro, won the Brazilian presidency with 55 percent of the vote. His outspoken misogyny and flamboyant racism are beyond disconcerting. […]
Oscar Romero: The saint I knew
IF YOU LIVE LONG enough, someone you knew might become a saint. Not just saintly, but a real Roman Catholic saint, ready to be immortalized in stained glass. It just happened to me. As a young reporter in El Salvador during the late 1970s, I came to know the country’s highest-ranking cleric, Archbishop Oscar Romero. A […]
No peace prizes for politicians
IN A RITUALIZED ceremony at Oslo City Hall later this year, two humanitarians whose names were little known until now will be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Then, as tradition dictates, they will be honored with a torchlight parade. They deserve it. The Norwegian Nobel Committee chose well when it bestowed this year’s prize on Denis Mukwege, a […]
Iran’s best diplomat takes on US power
HUNDREDS OF DIPLOMATS from around the world converged on New York this past week for the opening of the United Nations General Assembly. One had a tougher job than all the others — the world’s most challenging diplomatic assignment. Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif of Iran is today’s David facing the American Goliath. In this confrontation, […]
Can new faces change Washington’s bad habits?
A PRIDE OF POLITICAL LIONS is approaching Washington. Beginning in January, the House of Representatives will count four young women of color among its members. All have crashed through daunting barriers and see themselves as representing the downtrodden. They are likely to emerge as a political force in Congress. All four of them support causes […]
