Ariel Dorfman

Ariel Dorfman was cultural and press advisor to President Salvador Allende’s Chief of Staff during the last months of the Allende government. His new novel, The Suicide Museum, which deals with the death of Allende, has just been published.

A statue of Walt Disney and Mickey Mouse

Socialism and Disney Are Incompatible Socialism and Disney Are Incompatible

Our species can’t afford another century of the principles fostered by the Disney emporium.

Dec 11, 2023 / Ariel Dorfman

La Moneda on fire

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

Carlos Berger's memorial

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

Salvadore Allende addressing UN

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

Residencias de la Memoria

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 / Editorial / Ariel Dorfman

Gabriel Boric Election photo

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

Chile Street Protest

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

Óscar Castro Ramírez

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? 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 crowd of demonstrators wearing masks and waving flags.

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

x