Mike Gonzalez is a Senior Fellow at the Heritage Foundation, where he specializes in immigration, foreign policy, and political theory issues. His career spans journalism and public policy, with many significant contributions to both. Praxis Circle interviewed Mr. Gonzalez because of his excellent work in recent years diagnosing identity politics, Black Lives Matter, and other Marxist, postmodernist, and critical theory-related movements, often loosely categorized as Cultural Marxist or Woke.
Born in Cuba, Mr. Gonzalez’s family fled the country’s Communist dictatorship under Fidel Castro in 1972. They lived in Spain before immigrating to the United States.
Mr. Gonzalez holds a Bachelor of Arts in French and Spanish literature from Emerson College (1980-1983). He earned his Masters of International Affairs from the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University (1993-1995) with a focus on international economics and Latin America.
Before his time at the Heritage Foundation, Gonzalez was an award-winning journalist. He reported on the stock market in New York and served as a foreign correspondent for The Wall Street Journal, reporting from Europe, Asia, and Latin America. His journalism career gave him valuable insights into international affairs and diplomacy.
Mr. Gonzalez has been a prominent figure at Heritage since joining the organization in 2009. His expertise in immigration has produced informed policy decisions on immigration reform.
Mr. Gonzalez is a prolific author, having written numerous articles and books on immigration, identity, and American exceptionalism. He is the author of A Race for the Future: How Conservatives Can Break the Liberal Monopoly on Hispanic Americans (2014), The Plot to Change America: How Identity Politics is Dividing the Land of the Free (2020), and most recently, BLM: The Making of a New Marxist Revolution (2021).
A popular speaker, Mr. Gonzalez delivered lectures and participates in panel discussions on immigration, foreign policy, and politics across the United States. He is a strong advocate for educational choice and has worked on initiatives to improve access to quality education for all children, especially those from underserved communities.
