A native of Peru, Vargas Llosa has traveled widely as a journalist – to Latin America, Europe, Africa and other emerging-market countries – watching events unfold first-hand. “My background has taught me that a good deal of the hatred, fear, and mistrust that are the sources of conflict and instability in the world comes from a lack of awareness of how others live and think, “ he explains. “Our attitudes to many issues, including trade and immigration, result from insufficient information. I hope my column can help readers understand international affairs a little more.”

Vargas Llosa brings an abundance of media experience. His articles have appeared in The Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, Granta magazine, the International Herald Tribune, Time magazine and the BBC World Service. “I do not pretend to be neutral,” Vargas Llosa says of his work. “That is not to say I do not make the crucial distinction between fact and opinion. But I do think certain values are much more conducive to peace and prosperity than others. Those values are individual liberty, democracy under the rule of law, free markets and human rights.”

In addition to being a reporter and commentator for newspapers in the U.S., Europe and Central and South America, he is a former commentator for Univision TV and Radio Nacional de España in Madrid. He was host of a weekly TV program, “Planeta 3,” which aired in 12 Latin American countries, and has been a member of the editorial board at The Miami Herald Publishing Company and op-ed page editor at The Miami Herald’s El Nuevo Herald.

As a frequent lecturer on world economic and political issues, he states unequivocally, “I believe governments tend to create more problems than they solve, and I think an open mind and a tolerant approach are better ways of fostering social cohesion than diktats and moral authoritarianism.”

Vargas Llosa is a graduate of the London School of Economics and is currently a senior fellow and director of the Center on Global Prosperity at the Independent Institute, an Oakland, Calif.-based think tank. He and his family live in Washington, D.C.

AWARDS
Sir Antony Fisher International Memorial Award from the Atlas Economic Research Foundation (2006)
Freedom of Expression Award from the Association of Ibero-American Journalists (2003)
Defense of Freedom from the Peruvian Asociación de Pescadores Artesanales de Chimbote (2000)
A.I.R. Award for Best Current Affairs Radio Show in Florida (1998)
Puerto Rican Parliament Award for the Defense of Freedom (1997)

ENGLISH BOOKS
“Lessons from the Poor: Triumph of the Entrepreneurial Spirit” (The Independent Institute, 2008)
“The Che Guevara Myth and the Future of Liberty” (The Independent Institute, 2006)
“Liberty for Latin America” (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2005)
"Guide to the Perfect Latin American Idiot” (with Carlos Alberto Montaner and Plinio Apuleyo Mendoza) (Madison Books, 1996)
“The Madness of Things Peruvian” (Transaction Publishers, 1994)

SPANISH BOOKS
“Rumbo a la Libertad” (Planeta, 2004)
“La Contenta Barbarie” (Planeta, 1993)
“La Mestiza de Pizarro” (Aguilar, 2003)
“Tiempos de Resistencia” (Peisa, 2000)
“En el Reino del Espanto” (Seix Barral, 2000)
“Cuando Hablaba Dormido” (Grijalbo, 1999)
“Fabricantes de Miseria” (Plaza & Janes, 1998)
“El Exilio Indomable” (Espasa Calpe, 1998)
“El Diablo en Campaña” (Aguilar, 1991)