He was an engineer before he was a writer (although he’s more of a writer than an engineer). Mexican novelist David Toscana spent 10 years at companies like General Motors, Mattel (“Making Barbie dolls,” he says) and Coca-Cola. He worked as an engineer in the maquiladoras, those Mexican assembly plants along the U.S. border, where laborers put together parts that are received from around the world. This industry is part of the labyrinth that is globalized production.

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The rise of the far right is one of the great issues of our time: it is often cited as a threat to democracy and one of the building blocks of future dystopias. The left, as is its wont, reacts with a mixture of horror, discouragement, and calls for resistance. Caught in the middle, the traditional right seems to be indecisive, out of step with the times, torn between going all in with the risks that entails (the much-discussed preference for the original over the copy), or maintaining a responsible moderation.

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