Global Progressivism Without Action?

ByAna María Aragonés

This editorial by Ana María Aragonés originally appeared in the April 25, 2026 edition of La Jornada, Mexico’s premier left wing daily newspaper. The views expressed in this article are the authors’ own and do not necessarily reflect those of Mexico Solidarity Media or the Mexico Solidarity Project.

At the event held in Barcelona on April 18, progressive leaders from 40 countries gathered, invited by Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez. Among them were Claudia Sheinbaum, Lula da Silva, and Gustavo Petro, who advocated for peace, equality, and human rights. The event generated much hope, given the terrible neo-fascist conditions the world is experiencing and the presence of two Zionist delusional figures poised to lead us to global catastrophe: Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu.

A diagnosis was offered, which was undoubtedly clear, vibrant, and necessary, although the names of the two main deranged individuals attempting to take over the world were conspicuously absent. It is true that the need to reform the United Nations, and especially its Security Council, was mentioned, as its current configuration does not serve the purpose of seeking peace. The need to promote clean energy and increase taxes on the super-rich was also mentioned.

However, it was expected not only to hear specific criticisms about the current situation, but, from my point of view, it would have been very important to already propose an action plan, a program, some concrete measures, perhaps minimal, but that would clearly be a break that clearly exposed the rejection of the actions unleashed by those disturbed individuals.

I believe it was time to accuse Benjamin Netanyahu by name of genocide for the crimes perpetrated in Gaza, in the West Bank, in Syria, in southern Lebanon, for invading a land that is not his and expelling and murdering its true owners, the Palestinians.

It was expected that Donald Trump would be denounced for murdering fishermen in boats traveling through the Caribbean, whom he labels drug traffickers without the slightest proof; for kidnapping a president and his wife (Nicolás Maduro and Cilia Flores) because he claims, without any evidence, that he is the head of a drug cartel that doesn’t even exist; for bombing Iran despite the country having done absolutely nothing to him; for intending to destroy its electrical infrastructure and bridges, and for wanting to destroy it to return it to the Stone Age; and, most cruelly and horrifyingly, for murdering 170 schoolgirls in Iran, the perpetrators knowing full well that it was a school. All of this to support the wishes of the Zionist Benjamin Netanyahu, a war criminal who should be imprisoned for life.

There seems to be a profound disproportion between the extremely serious and terrifying events that the world is experiencing, which are the most compelling evidence of the magnitude of the crisis that global capitalism is undergoing, and the rather lukewarm proposals put forward by that progressive movement, which failed to exhibit concrete actions of sufficient magnitude to transform and confront the structures of global power.

As José Valenzuela would say, capitalist crises can have excessively long transitions, to the point of creating veritable historical quagmires, a sentiment never more apt than in these times. Unfortunately, the assembled progressives proved to be politically ineffective because, instead of articulating a response to the crisis, they avoided confronting this global power that, with complete impunity, violates all the rules of coexistence and international law without any authority appearing to sanction it. On the contrary, those who dare to exercise critical thought are punished. It’s all well and good to clamor for democracy, but what democracy? Voting? For rights? Whose rights? For inclusion? Inclusion of whom? Migrants? They weren’t even mentioned.

While the Barcelona event demonstrated an awareness of the gravity of the historical moment the world is experiencing, it also revealed the difficulty contemporary progressivism faces in articulating a structural response to the global crisis. This demands a profound critique of that left which, once in power in Latin America, allowed “free rein for a far right well-funded from Washington and Europe” (Aram Aharonian).