Enrique Penalosa in NYT Magazine

23Jun08

Not sure how I missed this, but a couple weeks ago the New York Times Magazine published an interview with former Bogota mayor, Enrique Penalosa. Penalosa, one of my favorite politicians in the world, is best known for his pro-environment policies, such as encouraging bicycle commuting and constructing the world’s largest rapid-bus system. He lost the last mayoral election, and the defeat seems to have helped him with his sense of humor:

At heart what I really am is a Colombian politician, but a bad one because I lose elections.

Penalosa represents the coming leftward swing in political thought–it’s a post-socialist approach to issues that accepts and even celebrates the market while remaining grounded in that whole “all men are created equal” ethos.

A few years ago I had the pleasure in interviewing Penalosa for a story that never appeared in Duke Magazine, and I’ll try to dig that thing up and throw it on here sometime soon.