The health and strength of democracy in a country depends to a large extent on the vigour of its civil society rooted in the creativity and resilience of an engaged citizenry. Many nations around the world used the Covid pandemic to drift towards an alarming right-wing authoritarianism, raising concern that democracy was in decline, As the article below from Yes Magazine reveals, progressives in 10 countries on different continents chose to take a different path.
Each of the 10 countries had their own specific problems. But the impact of the Black Lives Matter Movement was powerful enough to make racial inequalities, and injustices global issues that fueled protests in the US and Italy, demonstrating the great number of people opposed to racism and hatred. Violence against women and the denial of women’s reproductive rights mobilized resistance in Argentina, Chile, and Namibia. Striking Farmers in India, whose livelihood was threatened by government legislation harmful to their livelihood, gained the support of 250 million Indians. Japan stood alone among the 10 in fighting for the protection of the environment. Guatemalans took a stand against spending cuts, while Malawi and Peru, defending democracy, succeeded in reversing corrupted election results.
Their protests found sufficient popular support among a critical mass of their compatriots to force the ruling elites in these countries to make and deliver change.
Brigitte Kitchen
“Protest works. In Myanmar, Palestine, Thailand, and around the world, people are taking to the streets to resist repression and win change. Because protest works, governments try to stop it: In country after country, new restrictions have been introduced and protesters face police violence. Things got worse under the pandemic, as governments used lockdown restrictions as pretext to restrict rights. But despite the constraints people still protested, and often in the face of difficult odds, won breakthroughs.”
