A Letter From Peru: Where Affirmative Action Is Attempting to Get Women on the Ballot

But Will It Be Enough to Save a Nation in Democratic Crisis?

What are the obstacles and opportunities facing democracy today? Zócalo is publishing a series of letters to highlight how the world’s democratic ideals are faring in practice. From Peru: Nadia Ramos, CEO of the Women’s Leadership Center of the Americas, writes about efforts to achieve parity for women in politics, and why they can help a nation in democratic crisis.

Can affirmative action save Peru?

Peru is facing the worst institutional, political, and social crisis of its recent democratic history. In December, then-President Pedro Castillo dissolved Congress, a decision that led to his …

by Nadia Ramos | July 24, 2023

More In: Essays

Is There Such a Thing as a Sustainable Mining Boom?

An Early-20th-Century Copper Company Has Lessons for the Industry Today

by Ángela Vergara | July 20, 2023

In the Western U.S. and the north of Chile, large-scale mining has produced similar landscapes of extraction: open-pit and underground mines, smelter stacks, and large masonry structures. Transportation networks connected …

Who Cares for Caregivers’ Families While They’re Caring for Us?

A Mass Exodus Looms if the Profession Can’t Offer Workers the Childcare, Wages, and Leave Programs They Need to Stay

by Vicki Shabo | July 13, 2023

In March 2020, when Congress enacted the country’s first-ever federal paid sick time and child care leave policy, it carved millions of people out of the law’s guarantees, …

My Work as an In-Home Caregiver Shouldn’t Be This Hard

Minimum Wage, Unpaid Hours, Tricky Client Dynamics, and No Outside Support Sometimes Make This the Worst Job I’ve Ever Had

by Alva Rodriguez | July 10, 2023

As one of the over 550,000 caregivers in the state’s In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) programs, I am part of a big system that keeps 650,000 disabled, blind, or elderly Californians …

Let the Kids “BeReal” on Social Media

Restricting Internet Use Is a Violation of Young People’s First Amendment Rights

by Doris Morgan Rueda | July 6, 2023

My best friend’s 13-year-old son recently asked me to friend him on the social media app BeReal.

She had decided to let him download BeReal partially because it lets users post …

Could Cannabis Help the American West Solve Its Thorniest Environmental Issues?

A Growing Industry, and an Entire Region, Wrestle with Questions Around Water, Land Use, and Conservation

by Phoebe Parker-Shames | July 5, 2023

The study of cannabis is a personal one for me. Outdoor cannabis production in the rural Western U.S. has its roots in back-to-the-land movements of the 1960s. That’s when counterculture …

More In: Essays

Get More Zócalo