“The corporations want us to be separated.”
Corporations and banks coordinate around the globe. Governments around the world pushed austerity in response to the Wall Street recession. And now a current of far-right ethno-nationalism is rising around the world too — and coordinating across borders.
Shouldn’t we — the inclusive, multiracial, populist left — be coordinating too?
The rise of the radical right in Europe and the United States
In 2017, the first openly nationalist party entered the German parliament since WWII. It is now the the third largest party in Germany. In Hungary, Viktor Orban and the Hungarian neo-facist right have built a border wall against immigrants. They have taken over the free press and are shutting down civil society organizations. In the UK, a toxic blend of immigrant bashing and isolationism led to “Brexit.” In the name of “god and country” the ruling party in Poland attempted to completely ban abortion and they are now attacking the independence of the Polish judiciary.
In Hungary, Viktor Orban and the Hungarian neo-facist right have built a border wall against immigrants.
And, of course, in the United States, Donald Trump has captured the Republican Party with his brand of white nationalism and “American first” foreign policy.
It’s time for political movements rooted in solidarity and justice to build bridges and grow too.
Building a movement across borders
From October 4–8, 2017, the Working Families Academy brought a delegation of activists and leaders from around the United States to Madrid to meet with left organizers from across Europe. The goal of the gathering was to share strategies and deepen our analysis of the current political moment.
Spain has given rise to some of the most exciting recent expressions of a newly invigorated, people-powered politics anywhere in the world.
Participants in the delegation met with leaders from the UK Labour Party and the German Left Party, Polish political activists, organizers from city based-movements in Croatia and Serbia, Irish trade unionists, and many, many more.
Spain has given rise to some of the most exciting recent expressions of a newly invigorated, people-powered politics anywhere in the world. The delegation met with leaders and activists from Podemos and the Spanish municipalist movement and marched through the streets of Madrid with the movement against home foreclosures.
Developing a platform for our work in the U.S.
Participants in the Academy delegation left Spain with a strong sense of the need to define the underlying principles of our movement building and organizing work in the United States.
Working Families Academy will be…developing a program of political education with local leaders of the Working Families Party in cities and states around the U.S.
In the months to come, the Working Families Academy will be leading a platform development process while at the same developing a program of political education with local leaders of the Working Families Party in cities and states around the U.S.
For more on this story, read Reflections of the Working Families Academy delegation to Madrid and Academy Delegation Prepares for Madrid.
