Evasions
English + Español
I can’t get the image out of my mind. A teenager dressed in her school uniform perched on a Metro turnstile and looked out at the crowd, projecting the proud attitude that she could…
Theme: Public Policy and Governance
A New Way to Participate in Mexico City’s Urban Planning
Former Mexican Senator Citlalli Hernández, who at the time had just been elected as a local congressperson, was protesting the construction of a .06 mile highway underpass in Mexico City with some of her constituents. Their concerns were environmental, notably the removal of nearly 1,700 trees…
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The Fragility of Democracy
My Appa immigrated to the United States in the 1980s fleeing the Sri Lankan Civil War. The ethnic conflict, which evolved into a separatist movement, represented an effort by…
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The Challenges of Rural Transportation in Mexico
English + Español
I remember my first encounter with rural transportation. I’d left my job in the Secretariat of Urban Development and Ecology of the Mexican federal government, and founded a nonprofit civil association, together with some colleagues I’d met through that job…
Poverty in Brazil in Times of Pandemic
Growing up in the 1970s in Brazil was a mixture of adventure and fear. Imagine a child in a lower-middle-class family very involved in fighting the military dictatorship that ruled the…
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