The people can turn back a daunting right wing tide. The world offers lessons for those of us striving to restore democracy in the USofA and to overcome Donnie and the Two-Bit Fascists.
From Ezra Levin at Indivisible:
The authoritarians are falling. In April, a pro-democracy coalition in Hungary ousted Viktor Orbán after 16 years in power. On Sunday, a grassroots movement in Serbia beat Aleksandar Vučić, the Putin-favored strongman who had run the country for 14 years. And the same day in Brazil, Lula upended expectations to defeat Flávio Bolsonaro, the right-wing failson of the imprisoned former president Jair Bolsonaro.
Organizing wins. In all three countries, the authoritarians lost to mass grassroots movements that organized, mobilized, and interrupted politics as usual. Hungary had 2,500 semi-autonomous local “islands” organizing against Orbánism. Serbia’s democratic victory was the product of a youth-led movement. In Brazil, a thriving pro-democracy movement fought back against anti-democratic tech giants, including a cross-country pushback against Zuckerberg’s Meta that we were proud to join.
The margin matters. Hungary and Serbia weren’t close. The anti-Orban party won a supermajority on record turnout, and Orbán conceded on election night. Serbia’s Student List won an outright majority on the highest turnout in more than 30 years, and Vučić conceded the same night. Brazil was close, roughly 52-48, and Flávio Bolsonaro is now refusing to accept the result. Authoritarians will always try to sabotage a close election. A blowout leaves them nothing to work with.
Lula won in Brazil by increasing turnout beyond what his loss in the first round of voting suggested might be possible. With their democracy on the line, Brazilians chose to vote in overwhelming numbers. If you haven't found a role in our election, check out Indivisible.
Found-graphic by way of a friend south of the border ...
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