Let Local Residents Govern the California–Baja Border

The People Living with the Mess the U.S. and Mexico Made Have the Best Chance of Cleaning It Up

California-Baja Border | Zocalo Public Square • Arizona State University • Smithsonian

To: Baja California Gov.-elect Marina del Pilar Ávila and California Gov. Gavin Newsom
Cc: Tijuana Mayor Montserrat Caballero and San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria
Re: A Borderlands Assembly

All four of you can see that the American and Mexican governments are playing politics with the border. Both nations at the federal level refuse to govern the borderlands with the respect and responsibility that the place and its people deserve.

If you work together, you can establish a new body with the power and legitimacy to represent your constituents on both sides of …

by Joe Mathews | November 2, 2021

My Jewish Ancestors Fled Spain. Will Returning Feel Like Home—Or Just Another Diaspora?

Pursuing the Country’s Offer of Citizenship Feels Like Claiming Privilege When What I Want to Claim Is Justice

by Kathleen Alcalá | April 29, 2021

When the government of Spain passed a law that offered citizenship to the descendants of Jewish people expelled 500 years ago by the Inquisition, half the people I knew sent …

Feminist Foreign Policy Can Offer a ‘Modern Lens to a Modern World’

To Build a Better Tomorrow, a Small but Growing Number of Countries Are Bringing a Gender Lens to Today’s Biggest Issues

by Jackie Mansky | March 3, 2021

Sweden first introduced the term “feminist foreign policy” in 2014, and since then, a small but growing number of countries—most recently Mexico—have adopted or pledged to implement it.

But what exactly …

A ‘Glittering and Golden’ Museum to Mexico’s Drug War Is Heavy on Trinkets and Light on Tragedy

The Private ‘Narco Museum’ Documents One Side of the Story—Perhaps Someday the Public Will See the Whole Picture

by Ioan Grillo | March 3, 2021

Amid the gridlocked streets of northern Mexico City lies a fascinating and surreal museum that is not open to the public. Officially called the Museo del Enervante—a rather dull technical …

For Global Democracy, These Are the Worst of Times, but Also the Best of Times

A Rising Tide of Authoritarianism Co-Exists With Advancing Forms of Participatory and Direct Democracy

by Joe Mathews | September 29, 2020

Right now, it can feel like the worst of times for democracy. It also can feel like the best of times.

Democracy is under stress around the world from authoritarians and …

Why Monterey’s 250th Birthday Bodes Well for California’s Future

The Peninsula City Has Long Embodied the Golden State’s Ability to Be a Hideaway That Welcomes Both Immigrants and Ideas

by Joe Mathews | May 26, 2020

Monterey turns 250 years old next month. And the rest of the state should claim the date as its birthday too.

California is an orphan of a state, …

Let the People of California Solve the State’s Homelessness Crisis

A Citizens’ Assembly Could Unify People Around a Thorny Problem and Succeed Where Politicians Have Failed

The Border Should Inspire Us, Not Scare Us

Communities Along the U.S.-Mexico Border Point the Way to a Bicultural, Bilingual, and Binational Future

Welcome to California (Not!)

The Golden State's Four Borders Tend to Make the Other Side Look Better

Let’s Make a Deal to Keep Immigrant Families Together

California Should Have the Right to Grant Legal Residency to the Undocumented

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