海角大神

During the Trump era the Republican Party has transformed, with its politics now dominated by non-college-educated voters. That has big implications for this year鈥檚 election.

鈥� Red Sea strikes:聽U.S. and British militaries strike more than 60 targets in Yemen in retaliation for attacks by the Iranian-backed Houthi militant group against maritime vessels in the Red Sea.
鈥� Taiwan election:聽The island prepares to elect a new president and legislature Jan. 13.聽Many see the election as a test of control with China, which claims the self-governing republic.
鈥⒙燡ackson water crisis:聽Residents of聽Jackson, Mississippi,聽must boil tap water after traces of bacteria have been found in public drinking water.聽The state capital鈥檚 water system has faced chronic problems.
鈥� Winter storms:聽Snow is expected in Portland, Oregon, a city more accustomed to rain, with 鈥渓ife-threatening wind chills鈥� nearing South Dakota and the possibility of tornadoes in the South.

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Many Palestinians in the West Bank say the case brought by South Africa against Israel at the International Court of Justice could prompt judges to order a cease-fire in Gaza, offering a rare glimmer of hope for relief amid a bleak war.

People鈥檚 Park 鈥� Berkeley鈥檚 iconic gathering spot, founded in the 1960s 鈥� sits on valuable real estate in the heart of the university town. Plans to develop聽on聽the site raise questions about public space and what鈥檚 best for a community.

In war, brutality and humanity coexist. For the Monitor, daily coverage is about more than an accounting of strategic gains and losses. It鈥檚 about keeping at the fore the stories of those who are most affected. Our Mideast editor joined our podcast to detail his 鈥� and his writers鈥� 鈥� essential work.聽聽

A new documentary offers a nonlinear, lyrical look at the activism and life of a celebrated Black poet. What our commentator comes away with is a sense of love and awe.

Across Latin America, voters have tossed out one government after another in pursuit of honest governance and economic stability. Now it is Guatemala鈥檚 turn. Yet the transfer of power in Central America鈥檚 most populous nation may be qualitatively different from those that have come before it elsewhere in the region.

The inauguration of Bernardo Ar茅valo on Sunday is less a triumph of personal charisma than a manifestation of a deepening democratic mindset among Guatemalans. Arising gradually in local cantons since the end of a civil war 30 years ago, it reflects a fusing of civic virtues and Indigenous Mayan values.

鈥淭he democracy experienced in the cantons is more participatory, more meaningful than simply voting in elections,鈥� wrote Matthew Krystal, an anthropologist at North Central College in Illinois who has spent three decades studying Guatemalan society, in the Prensa Libre newspaper. 鈥淢eetings can last for hours. Everyone has the right to speak and many participate. Their decisions carry the legitimacy that comes from an intensive process of listening, debating, thinking.鈥�

According to Dr. Krystal, one Mayan spiritual leader described the approach to seeking consensus as, 鈥淭hey don鈥檛 fight, they love each other.鈥�

Since winning nearly 60% of the vote in an August runoff, Mr. Ar茅valo has faced repeated attempts by the attorney general and others to annul his victory. That none of those efforts succeeded is due largely to a long-underestimated force. Indigenous Guatemalans 鈥� particularly Mayan women 鈥� have upheld democracy through sustained peaceful protests. Their quiet defiance dovetails with the incoming president鈥檚 own sense of leadership.

鈥淕overnance is to be ensured not through the capacity of the state to enforce obedience,鈥� he said in a 2017 interview with the Development and Peace Foundation, 鈥渂ut through the will of the people to pledge their allegiance to institutions that represent them and which they thus consider legitimate. ... This involves 鈥榳eaving鈥� back trust into the social fabric in every sphere of life. Dialogue 鈥� active engagement through listening and understanding 鈥� has an important role to play in achieving this effect.鈥�

Guatemala鈥檚 Constitution allows for only one four-year term. Mr. Ar茅valo acknowledges that does not give him much time to break the strong bonds of corruption that have weakened the country鈥檚 democratic institutions and driven dozens of judges and journalists into exile. But he argues that most of the work of revitalizing governance belongs to the people rather than to their elected officials.

Mayans, Professor Krystal wrote, believe that 鈥渨hat we do well returns good to us.鈥� In his modesty, Mr. Ar茅valo has signaled that following the wisdom of the people may be the key to leading societies like Guatemala out of patterns of corruption and lawlessness.