“The importance of offering real alternatives to what we have now is pivotal to our cause, and that starts with recognising that they already exist.”
By Ed Swann
On Saturday 7th February, I woke to greet quiet roads and dark streets at the early hours of the day. Not seldom is it that you find a group of students venturing the streets of Leamington Spa at 6am, prolonging the night before and extending the morning after when the clubs and bars are long shut. Rarely, however, do you see a quartet heading to the capital to volunteer at the 2026 Latin America Conference. Alongside my committed, albeit somewhat exhausted Warwick Left Society comrades, we bore witness to some of the greatest displays of internationalism and solidarity from the British left in their unwavering determination to rebuild narratives and shed light on the growing discourse of Latin America.
Speeches from prominent figures of the labour movement included Jeremy Corbyn, Richard Burgon, John McDonnell, Fidel Antonio Castro Smirnov, Chris Hazzard, Jess Barnard and Louise Reagan (to name just a selection of the many inspiring advocates in attendance), all carrying with them not just the intellectual understanding of the struggles of Latin American workers, but a shared emotional connection that resonated in their collective messages. On each panel, addresses and film screening, the poignant takeaway was clear: we must see through the smoke and mirrors of Western narratives on Latin America and see the attacks from the US imperialist regime as evidence of their decline – even if they are to go down kicking and screaming.
Militarism from the United States is, as we know, nothing new in Latin America; the desire to expand US hegemonic dominance is central to their colonial ambitions, derailing regime after regime through the backing of coup d’états. We saw this by Ford and Kissinger in Argentina, in the 1971 Bolivian coup, against social democrats in Brazil by Kennedy and then Johnson (fearful of another Cuba or China), and the establishment of a 17-year-long dictatorship in Chile. This is all without mentioning the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Haiti, Mexico, Nicaragua or Panama, all victims of the same style of tyrannical intervention.
Naturally, however, it was Cuba and Venezuela’s solidarity campaigns that took centre-stage at this year’s conference. Traditionally, US imperialism in Latin America has had elements of covert action, maintaining somewhat of a level of distance from the true events enacted on command of each administration, that sought to eradicate socialism abroad, or conducted such operations in the name of combating authoritarianism, the Soviet Union or (manufactured narratives of) narcotrafficking. The kidnapping of President Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, showed the determination of the Trump administration to leave no stone unturned in terms of the damage inflicted upon Venezuela. It also, however, revealed something else: there is no willingness to hide behind a veil of democratisation and liberalisation anymore. Instead, the neoliberal superhub of the world, the land of the free and the home of the brave, has unveiled its true status as a neo-fascist state.
Many aren’t surprised by this. For decades, Fukuyama’s ‘end of history’ has been disregarded by the left, who can see neoliberalism as the modernised equivalent and hiding place of fascism. I am a firm believer that how a state acts abroad, like the US’s determination to root out socialism in Latin America, is how a state would act at home if no one were watching. Now, after Maduro’s kidnapping and the rise of ICE on US soil, with millions watching both at home and abroad, the mask is well and truly off, and the beast has been revealed. As the imperial regime declines with the rise of China and the collapse of neoliberal ‘successes’ since 2008, the US empire is kicking and screaming on its way down.
So, now it is clear what beast we deal with, what is to be done (to accidentally quote Vladimir)? Latin America Conference 2026 made this clear.
Firstly, as emphasised on every panel and discussion of the day, we must not forget the importance of drilling our analysis into the zeitgeist of Britain. In order to shift the narrative on Latin America away from narcotrafficking, dictatorships, corruption and violence, we must scream and shout incessantly. It is not enough to return year-on-year to a room full of the same crowd with the same shared analysis. Bringing others into solidarity campaigns, making challenges in the media, and consistently, unequivocally backing our stances are how we move the Overton window.
Secondly, a new alternative must be offered. We must show Britain, if we are to create a new socialism fit for our time, the achievements of socialism abroad. Unions like the NEU and Unite offer trips to Cuba, and experts at Latin America Conference spoke in detail about how policies implemented by the left have effectively combatted inequality, such as taking control of their own natural resources and that the minimum wage in Mexico has gone up 154% between 2018 and 2026.
It is clear, then, that internationalism and solidarity are our best tools to not just help the cause of Latin Americans, but simultaneously to advance our own struggles in Britain. By standing with and highlighting the work of socialists abroad, the rejection and struggle to overthrow capitalist models in Latin America can become true inspirations for the European left, taking the tried and tested methods used in Latin America, who we must recognise are far ahead of us in their rejection of capital’s dominance. The principles and drive that underpin left-wing movements can be applied here, so long as our internationalism and solidarity are mobilised into tangible and material campaigns and actions. Whether it be replicating the social missions under Chavez that reduced poverty and eradicated extreme poverty, or by pinning women’s liberation as central to everything (alongside indigenous and black liberation), just as many Latin American socialists have done, we can build both a new foreign and domestic programme built on peace and equality.
The Latin America Conference showed solidarity doesn’t have to be economically transactional, and for as long as we replicate the same spirit and mentality of Latin America in our own fight for socialism in the 21st century, we can make exponential progress by placing internationalism and solidarity with Latin America, and indeed all left-wing movements, governments and organisations, at the forefront of what we do in Britain. The importance of offering real alternatives to what we have now is pivotal to our cause, and that starts with recognising that they already exist, in Cuba and beyond.
- Ed Swann is the Chair of Warwick Left Society. You can follow the society on Twitter/X and Instagram.
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