How Latin America’s Left Could Lose Their Scapegoat

Will Obama’s Trip to Cuba and Argentina Be the Nail in the Coffin for the Region’s Tired Anti-American Script?

Barack Obama took a deserved victory lap in Latin America last week.

Critics of the president’s opening to Cuba accuse Obama of appeasing the Castro regime, but they missed the historic significance of the trip.

When Obama went on Cuban TV and radio to say that he’d made the visit to “bury the last remnant of the Cold War in the Americas,” he might as well have been burying the nation’s virulently anti-American regime, not just Washington’s outdated policies.

Obama’s visit did more to spotlight the truly heinous nature of the …

By Andrés Martinez | March 28, 2016

Obama’s Visit to Cuba Spells the End of a Grotesque Amusement Park

The Island’s Opening Will Deny American White-Collar Subversives Their Once Forbidden Fruit

By Tom Zoellner | March 23, 2016

As every librarian or pornographer knows, one of the most reliable ways to excite interest in a creative work is to ban it. When the authorities clamp down and announce …

Why Do Burger King and Walgreens Want to Flee the U.S.?

America’s Outdated, Imperialistic Tax Code Pushes Global Businesses Overseas

by Andrés Martinez | September 29, 2014

The Obama administration is not living up to its promise to move the country away from an arrogant, unilateral approach to the world. And it has not embraced a more …

A person lies face down on a red towel at a beach, face hidden, with a hat covering the back of their head.

Stop Pretending Nothing Happens in August

The Month of Beach Vacations Is Also When World War I Broke Out, Iraq Invaded Kuwait, and the U.S. Bombed Hiroshima and Nagasaki

by Andrés Martinez | August 18, 2014

Zócalo’s editors are highlighting some of our favorite pieces from the archive. This week: Former Zócalo editorial director Andrés Martinez muses on the mischief and …

Pope Francis Sends His Regrets

Why Are So Many Politicians, Religious Leaders, and Regular Folks Sending Invitations to the New Head of the Roman Catholic Church?

by Patrick Gilger | June 18, 2014

For Pope Francis, this has been a season of invitations. First, he toured the Holy Land, as guest of honor for heads of state, religious leaders, and ordinary people alike. …

Why Obama Shouldn’t Fall for Putin’s Ukrainian Folly

Russia and the West Have Conspired to Tear the Country Apart. Both Sides Must Stand Down Now or Face the Consequences.

by Anatol Lieven | March 2, 2014

We’re now witnessing the consequences of how grossly both Russia and the West have overplayed their hands in Ukraine. It is urgently necessary that both should find ways of withdrawing …

foreign policy