Copyright © 2021 Albuquerque Journal
As we say goodbye to 2020, three issues that defined the year loom large:
• Nine months and 2,534 deaths later, we’ve got a COVID-19 vaccine ushering in hope the end of this horrifying pandemic is in sight. But deaths continue to mount in New Mexico and throughout the world, and life most likely won’t get back to normal for us until summer or fall.
• Thousands marched in the streets of Albuquerque – through torrential rains and a deadly pandemic – demanding change, while in Santa Fe, a monument that had long stirred controversy was toppled. What’s next for Black Lives Matter and the social justice movements that punctuated the year?
• Two months after Joe Biden prevailed in the presidential election, many still believe that Trump actually won and that the election was stolen, despite there being no evidence. So what’s next as we navigate a divided, post-truth world where facts are what we want them to be and truth be damned if it doesn’t mesh with our worldview?
Journal staff writers Dan Boyd, Dan McKay, Matthew Reisen and Ryan Boetel delve into these topics, talking to those on the front lines about what might be in store for us as we embark on a new year – all the while yearning for a return to normalcy.
Pandemic marathon
NM is likely halfway through COVID-19 crisis, but vaccines may ease things in 2021
Watershed moment
Local social justice activists view 2020’s protests as just the start of progress
A post-truth world?
Conspiracy theories abound, denying reality of pandemic, election results
