Nueva Sociedad – A magazine for leftist debate in changing times

Nueva Sociedad (NuSo) is a flagship publication of the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung in Latin America. The project has many years of strong tradition behind it, with a high level of regional popularity. Even so, NUSO is still young at heart: only two of its current staff were born before the magazine was founded forty-five years ago.

Today the magazine looks back on 270 issues. It was founded during the military dictatorship in the early seventies, offering a voice to critical intellectuals who were usually unable to publish in their home countries. In this way, NuSo contributed to the democratization of the region.

The state of affairs is less dramatic these days, but the anchoring of progressive thinking in Latin America remains an important matter. Economic development, participation in society by all social groups, and the consolidation of democracy are permanent endeavours.

That said, the magazine reflects a broad debate across the centre-left political spectrum about alternative development models and political reforms. The aim is to provide a differentiated view instead of a black-and-white one. This is not always easy, as the current debate on the crisis of the left in Latin America demonstrates.

Concern about the deficits of the democratic and economic model in the region is on an upswing. Those on the left must deal with the shortcomings of the recent past and develop strategies for the future. This is where Nueva Sociedad comes in, offering analyses and opinion pieces and describing best-practice approaches.

"The magazine's main focus right now is on political reforms to party financing and electoral campaigns, anti-corruption strategies, and ways to curb the power of transnational corporations," says Claudia Detsch, director of the journal. Academic enough for a more scientifically minded audience, Nueva Sociedad is also general and political enough for a broad readership with interest in these topics.

The magazine's website has been turned into an electronic media outlet for virtual communication: new groups of users, including younger readers, are being drawn to the articles, analyses, studies, interviews, video statements, blogs, chronicles and social media campaigns available. In addition, the online presence provides a space for debate on current events, which is important in times when globally significant events are unfolding with increasing speed.

Nueva Sociedad also offers an opportunity for dialogue between science and politics with its international conferences, where the focus is increasingly on exchanges among representatives from the Global South.

The magazine's editorial office is located in the San Telmo quarter of Buenos Aires, a hotbed of Argentine tango, its sounds often accompanying the work of the editorial staff, eight vigorous team members, who will continue to stimulate the intensive debates on the evolution of the left in Latin America keeping progressive thought on the upbeat in the region.