Mexico’s Noisy, Colorful, Unserious Election

We’re About to Elect Our First Woman President, But Most of Us Know Real Change Isn’t Coming

The biggest elections in Mexican history will take place on June 2. Citizens will vote to fill more than 20,000 offices: electing a new president and governors from eight of our 32 states, filling the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies (the equivalent of the U.S. House of Representatives), and installing a new head of government for Mexico City and thousands of other communities.

If that sounds hectic, it’s because it is. In Mexico City, braving a month-long heatwave, literal tons of political propaganda litter the streets. Every free wall, pedestrian …

by María Guillén | May 29, 2024

What Is 21st-Century Truth?

Propaganda Has Trapped Us in Plato’s Cave—the Shadows Aren’t Real but the Sun Is Blinding

by Jennifer Mercieca | February 26, 2024

Zócalo is celebrating its 20th birthday this year! As part of the festivities, we’re publishing reflections and responses that revisit and reimagine some of …

Why My Parents Backed Poland’s Far-Right Party

The Postwar Generation Struggled. I Hope That the Newly Elected Parliament Will Bring Them Into the Fold

by Anna Cichopek-Gajraj | January 3, 2024

“Poles are idiots!”

“What are poor people going to do?”

Last October, just days after Poland’s most recent parliamentary elections, I listened as my craggy-faced 83-year-old father angrily shouted these words through …

How Poland’s Opposition Won an Unfair Election

The Civic Coalition Is Proof That a Highly Motivated and Well-Organized Campaign Can Win—Even Against a Ruling Party That Cheats

by Alexander Sikorski | January 3, 2024

On a blustery day in early October 2023, half a dozen volunteers stood outside a street market in Łódź, Poland’s fourth largest city, handing out flyers, stickers, and cherry cakes. …

Californians Need a New Political Party That Can Keep Us Afloat

Forget Democrats and Republicans. Real Change Requires Fresh Ideology

by Joe Mathews | October 13, 2020

I got one of those calls again—they come every six months or so—from a Silicon Valley hotshot who wants to use his brain and his wealth to fix what ails …

Here Are Two Voting Reforms That Could Counter America’s Hyperpolarization

When Used Together, ‘Ranked Choice’ and ‘Top Two’ Elections Would Strengthen Major Parties and Favor Moderate Politicians

by John Gastil | August 1, 2018

Political polarization has spread across the globe. The ensuing ideological purity might make each warring faction appear stronger, but in reality, hyperpolarization weakens parties by making them less appealing to …

political parties