Opinion

A turbulent decade comes to a close

A turbulent decade comes to a close
Photo: Antonio Scorza

A lot can happen in ten years. Nowadays, some specialists say that, over this period, we can already begin talking about generational differences. With the speed of technological evolution, it is no surprise to see two distinct generations in less than a decade.

To have an idea of what this means, exactly ten years ago, Apple launched the iPhone 3GS, considered a landmark for the smartphone market. Today, newborns are already digital natives, plugged into a world dominated by technology and a networked society, as described by Spanish sociologist Manuel Castells.

Now that 2019 has come to an end, we can look back on these last ten years and categorically state: a great many things have happened. Though there are methodological doubts about whether the 2010s have actually come to an end—the Cartesians among us correctly claim the new decade only begins in year 1, or, in this case, 2021—I ask that you allow me the poetic licence to reflect on some issues that came to mind in my recent reading.

People on the streets 

We have therefore come to the end of another decade. From a political point of view, we saw the hegemonic Workers’ Party change leader with the election of Dilma Rousseff in 2010, before gradually fading until her impeachment in 2016. We saw the U.S. re-elect Barack Obama, only to elect the unlikely President Donald Trump four years later. Some countries, such as China, have grown in power and economic clout. Others, such as Venezuela, have chosen the dark path of abandoning democracy, for which they are now paying the price.

The 2010s was also a decade of widespread protest around the globe. The June 2013 demonstrations in Brazil laid bare the population’s dissatisfaction with the country’s system of political representation. Some say that the movement planted the seed for the protests against Ms. Rousseff’s government and her eventual...

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