The U.S. Hand Behind Latin America's Turn to the Right W/David Adler

I hosted my first ever live with David Adler, Co-General Coordinator of Progressive International. David was the perfect guest to zoom out and map the rightward political realignment across Latin America from Colombia to Chile, Honduras to Peru. We unpacked both the historical and current role of U.S. interventions behind this shift as the Trump administration escalates its “war on the left” both at home and abroad. It’s best summarized by David who quotes Brazilian president, Lula da Silva.

We also talked about the role of Big Tech, which Adler names as one of three mechanisms besides military and money, driving the region’s rightward turn. Here’s what he had to say about Peter Thiel and his involvement in Honduras.

It wasn’t all doom and gloom. We talked about the hope we see in the Democratic Socialist surge in the U.S. and David pointed out how important working across borders is. He listed what our specific asks should be: U.S. gun control, drug policy reform, and abolishing ICE, looking at them as forms of solidarity rather than charity. In a year where he’s felt that we’ve been outmatched, the primary wins by left candidates, especially Abdul El-Sayed’s Michigan Senate Democratic primary win, are evidence that grassroots organizing can beat “capital-intensive” politics, arguing the movement is “rising to the occasion.”

Thank you Cara Ober, Betsy M. Pool, Sharon Hom, LeftieProf, Joe Hendren, and over a thousand others for tuning into my first Live video with David R. K. Adler! Lots more to come.