This article by Francisco Lemus originally appeared in the January 3, 2026 edition of Rebelión. The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect those ofMexico Solidarity Media*, or theMexico Solidarity Project.*
2025 was primarily a year of defeats for the global left. On the one hand, Donald Trump returned with greater stridency and a complete disregard for international law, while israel continued its genocide with utter disregard for decency. Specifically in Latin America, this year marked advances for the populist right.
While the victory of the social democrat Zohran Mamdani in New York was met with hope globally, the reality is that it is a repetition of a constant in neoliberal politics (left or right), in which all hopes are placed on a single character and not on social processes.
You don’t need to be a socialist to agree that participation is fundamental for a society to be truly democratic; however, that idea has been banished from the minds of most people in exchange for the false comfort of delegating all politics to a charismatic leader and hoping that he will solve everything.
This is understandable, given that collective action is costly; spending hours, or perhaps even days, discussing options can be highly exhausting. Most people prefer to avoid it and leave it to someone else, paying if necessary, to get rid of these problems. This situation has worsened since the pandemic.
But leaving politics in the hands of a few can have costs that aren’t easily perceived. Environmental damage is a good example, but in general, social well-being depends on the proper management of a society’s resources; leaving it in the hands of a minority is mortgaging the future in exchange for a false sense of comfort.
The neoliberal era has been very successful in making life more precarious for the majority, leaving most of society exhausted and therefore unwilling to invest time in something as fundamental as politics. This is how the majority not only feels alienated from this issue, but also finds it easier to fall for easy or messianic solutions.
It is likely that we need to hit rock bottom to realize that this socio-economic system is a recipe for failure for the majority of humanity and for the planet in general; because while politicians (of any faction) strive to reduce the participation of the majority, our attention is focused on less relevant issues.
It won’t be long before Mamdani becomes another disappointment, and in other parts of the world, the left will once again celebrate yet another empty victory. All of this will be accompanied by new, self-important analyses, ruptures, and splits, all outside the realm of popular organization and participation, which will only further fuel despair.
Mexico Facing the Radical Right
In Mexico, the government that emerged from the 4T maintains its strength and popularity, although suffering constant erosion; it will be a matter of time before the mass media manage to undermine the communicative power that the government of López Obrador bequeathed to that of Claudia Sheinbaum, and before a radical right wing challenges its hegemony.
If the current government had a genuine desire to halt the rise of far-right expressions, it would make an effort to bring politics closer to the social base, but whether due to maintaining the privileges of its elites, or due to a distrust of the popular base, the government has shown very little interest in promoting these changes.
Faced with the latent threat of US military intervention, the 4T government will face great challenges in 2026, but it is a mistake to think that it can be the only victim of these actions; one only has to look at the disaster that the US has left in every place it has been.
While Mexico is a country that the US has tried to control with a certain degree of freedom, mainly to avoid a serious conflict that ends up reaching its borders, rationality is not something that characterizes Trump and his associates, who are characterized as much by their incompetence as by the stridency of their threatening positions.
The only effective response to this threat, as in general to the advance of the radical right, which as we can see in the case of israel has no limits to committing the worst crimes against humanity, is popular organization, but the neoliberal left has decided not to bet on that possibility.
Why bother, if it’s better to continue being an exemplary administrator of the interests of big capital and only strive for handouts – sometimes more generous than others – for the bulk of the population, until it’s time to give way again to the right wing, which will continue doing more or less the same thing, but giving free rein to hatred of the people.
Without Losing Hope…
In 2026, the best thing we can hope for is that we shake off this political apathy and have a greater participatory commitment to every decision, from what concerns the neighbourhood to what is of a global nature.
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The New Fascism
January 6, 2026
Fascism returns, manifesting itself in truly terrorist acts like those witnessed in Venezuela during these first days of January, writes Morena Deputy Magdalena Rosales Cruz.
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2025, A Year of Setbacks for Popular Struggle
January 6, 2026January 6, 2026
It is likely that we need to hit rock bottom to realize that this socio-economic system is a recipe for failure for the majority of humanity and for the planet in general.
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People’s Mañanera January 5
January 5, 2026
President Sheinbaum’s daily press conference, with comments on US aggression against Venezuela, relationship with the US, energy sovereignty, social investment and education stipends.
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