50 Years After “the Other 9/11”: Remembering the Chilean Coup 50 Years After “the Other 9/11”: Remembering the Chilean Coup
Some personal reflections on history, memory, and the survival of democracies.
Sep 11, 2023 / Ariel Dorfman
Chile’s Battle for Memory: A Report From the Latest Front Chile’s Battle for Memory: A Report From the Latest Front
The fight over a memorial to my friend Carlos Berger and other victims of the Caravan of Death reveals that there are still many in Chile who resist the lessons of our country’s tr...
Feb 22, 2023 / Ariel Dorfman
Salvador Allende Still Speaks to Us Today Salvador Allende Still Speaks to Us Today
Chilean President Gabriel Boric and Spanish Prime Minster Pedro Sanchez both find themselves besieged by a virulent resurgence of the same right-wing movements that demolished demo...
Dec 2, 2022 / Ariel Dorfman
Stumbling on Chilean Stones—and Chilean History Stumbling on Chilean Stones—and Chilean History
Chile has a new leader and a bright future. But a country in which 44 percent of the electorate voted for an admirer of Pinochet is in need of as many obstacles to forgetting as po...
Jan 27, 2022 / Ariel Dorfman
The Challenge of Chile The Challenge of Chile
The election of Gabriel Boric, a left-wing president, has consequences far beyond the country’s borders.
Dec 21, 2021 / Ariel Dorfman
Donald Duck Quacks Again as Chile Elects a New President Donald Duck Quacks Again as Chile Elects a New President
A half-century after it fed the Pinochet regime’s bonfire of heretical books, a celebrated “handbook of decolonization” has new relevance to a country on the brink of a momentous c...
Nov 22, 2021 / Ariel Dorfman
How Theater Can Help Us Survive How Theater Can Help Us Survive
The saga of Chilean director and playwright Oscar Castro is a vivid example of how art can help us endure—and thrive.
May 6, 2021 / Ariel Dorfman
Trump’s Dilemma: Who Will Give Him Asylum Now? Trump’s Dilemma: Who Will Give Him Asylum Now?
The best candidate, by far, is Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un, the despotic ruler of North Korea.
Dec 8, 2020 / Ariel Dorfman
A New Constitution: What the United States Can Learn From Chile A New Constitution: What the United States Can Learn From Chile
Do the problems that beset us, so similar to those that plague our Chilean brothers and sisters, not cry out for a radical reimagining of who we are?
Oct 26, 2020 / Ariel Dorfman
What Would Hell Be Like for Donald Trump? What Would Hell Be Like for Donald Trump?
With the US presidential election around the corner, it’s appealing to imagine consigning Trump to literal Hell.
Oct 23, 2020 / Ariel Dorfman