Sociologist and political newcomer Bernardo Arévalo won the presidency in Guatemala in a landslide, surprising analysts and even himself. He’s bent on ending endemic corruption in his country and addressing injustices of the past. Powerful forces are stacked against him.

A native New Yorker, Spencer Ackerman watched with horror as the Twin Towers fell in September 2001. At first, he fed on the popular rhetoric of vengeance and unity in the war on terror. Then he became a journalist and covered the conflicts that came — and decided he had swallowed a fantasy pill.