Reimagining Politics Blog

Sunday morning, Nov. 21, I traveled to Juanacatlán again with Miyuki and her wonderful family, husband Chaco and daughter Kei, to participate in a Greenpeace action designed to bring attention to the horrific health threats that are directly linked to the massive toxic pollution in the Río Santiago. Dozens of local residents and students turned out for the unfurling of a protest banner from the bridge above the falls at the junction of El

Yesterday I had the privilege of participating in the gardening and classroom sessions of the Jardín de Vida project (Garden of Life) in Juanacatlán, a very poor and dangerously polluted pueblo about an hour’s drive from Guadalajara. Juanacatlán is situated on the banks of the sulfurously toxic, 433 km (269 mile) long Santiago River (Río Santiago), which is considered one of the most polluted waterways in the Americas. Although the dramatic falls of the

Just for fun, and to cool down after a heated election in the US, I had a refreshing horchata from a mobile horchata vender in Guadalajara. Try it. You will love it. FROM WIKIPEDIA Horchata (/ɔːrˈtʃɑːtə/; Spanish: [orˈtʃata], or orxata (Catalan pronunciation: [oɾˈʃata]), is the name of several kinds of traditional beverages, made of ground almonds, sesame seeds, rice, barley, tigernuts (chufas), or melon seeds. ETYMOLOGY The name derives from Valencian orxata,

My dear friend Sergio Carciofi, an attorney, writer and political educator with unparalleled expertise in Peronismo, continues to publish, educate and speak at public events of all kinds in Buenos Aires, ranging from grand lecture halls to panel discussions to intimate local venues. He is pictured here (r) with fellow historians Jorge Landau (l) and Silvia Rey (c) at the National Congress of Argentina. Sergio’s talks and his books often bring to light

Milena and her volunteers continue to grow the Comuna 13 Project (Stairway to English) that we are so proud to be affiliated with in Medellín, Colombia. In the past three months, they have created their own film festival, and the students have started giving tours to tourists – in English! This is the Titanium Standard for small scale local initiatives started out of love and passion with no money. The

One of the most exciting projects that I have encountered in México is Civics.es, a social mapping initiative that began in Spain. This initiative is now working in México and Colombia. A brief video introduction to their work in Guadalajara is here. Javier (at right in the photo) is one of the founders of this initiative in Spain, and his presentation on the origins of social mapping within the context of

Passions are running high after Donald Trump’s victory in the Nov. 8th election for US President. However, this is not the first US election with enormous stakes. All US elections have been important in their times for varying reasons, but there are a few that I believe standout for being easily as important as 2016 if not more so. This is sometimes the case for their unintended consequences long after the election as for their immediate impact. A few notes that I

The first ever Women’s Tech Meetup took place last week on November 3, in Tuxtla Guitérrez in the state of Chiapas, México, courtesy of my friends Isabel Jimenez and Antonio Anaya. This came out of a dinner for women in the tech community in Guadalajara, where Isabel met Antonio courtesy of Ana Paula. You see how this works! Ja, ja. Isabel was one of the co-founders of the Tech Women Community in México

My friend Ana Paula Barragán Gutiérrez of AuroraGlobal.mx was a featured speaker last week at the Congress of Better Corporate Practices in Guadalajara, México. About 30 corporate executives showed up to hear Ana Paula give an hour long presentation on social entrepreneurism, B-Corps and the psychology and motivational factors driving this phenomenon, which is a major and growing force in Guadalajara. With more than $21 billion per year in tech

Various photos follow below from a visit this morning to Amorosocafé in Guadalajara with my friends Ana Paula and Edith. The owner is Carlos Estrella, a great guy who is the largest distributor in Guadalajara of Brooks bicycle saddles. Varias fotos esta mañana a Amorosocafé en Guadalajara con mis amigas Ana Paula y Edith. El dueño de Amorosocafé es Carlos Estrella, un buen hombre quien es el distribuidor más grande de

I was interviewed very early this morning by the Montevideo Portal about today’s US election. The interview is reprinted here in English. MICHAEL MEURER INTERVIEWED BY MONTEVIDEO PORTAL, NOV. 8, 2016   Q1 – First of all, I have a doubt… what exactly is Acorn, an organization related to vote frauding?  A1 – ACORN is an acronym for the non-profit “Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now.” The organization no