The United Nations General Assembly approved a resolution, presented by Togo and supported by the African Union, that promotes a more accurate cartographic representation of Africa's actual size, encouraging the replacement of the 16th-century Mercator projection with the Equal Earth projection, which shows continents in proportional sizes. The "Fix the Map" resolution was approved with 164 votes in favor, one against (United States) and six abstentions, with Washington calling the initiative a "radical ideological project" and a distraction from the organization's real problems. Defenders argue that Mercator's distortion, which makes Africa appear about the size of Greenland when in reality it is 14 times larger, has contributed to an unbalanced global perception and symbolically diminished the continent. The African Union celebrated the vote as "a historic step" toward "accurate and equitable" cartographic representation, although implementation of the resolution depends on the political will of member states, since General Assembly resolutions are not binding.
Jornal Económico06/09/26, 17:09
