What does the future have in store for us? Every day feels like we are waiting for the next shoe to drop: what will be the next funding cut, raised price, round of layoffs, or attack on our rights? Massive cuts to the public services funded with our tax dollars in healthcare, education, housing, and transit are being redirected towards ICE, the police, and military. Our taxes keep footing the bill while, this year, the biggest and most profitable corporations paid the lowest taxes ever recorded. Meanwhile, the cost of our utility bills, gas, and groceries keep going up. Rather than fund jobs and necessary infrastructure, big companies are flaunting their wealth by building giant data centers and rolling out surveillance infrastructure while tens of millions of people are just struggling to make ends meet.
The 2026 midterm elections are approaching, which are supposedly the way to bring us some relief or even real change. But does swapping out politicians to manage a system that is really controlled by the rich and powerful change our fate? We do have other possibilities.
Around the world right now, mass demonstrations and uprisings show us a different path. In France, high school students in the poorer working class areas, tired of the worsening conditions and little promise for a better future, launched weeks of demonstrations and protests in the streets. They unleashed the anger of students in the universities and the broader public. Massive days of action were held on October 17, 22, and 24, with hundreds of thousands around the entire country taking to the streets. The functioning of this system: education inequality, wealth inequality, militarism, and racism are some of the main concerns driving people to take to the streets.
And this is not just happening in France! In Spain, Italy, Greece, Albania, Serbia, Bolivia, India, and elsewhere, mass protests have exploded against rising costs, corrupt governments, increased military, and cuts to public services. In Spain, protests were sparked when an 87-year-old woman was physically evicted from her home in Madrid, where housing has become completely inaccessible to most people. In Albania, protests were originally launched back in February in response to the Trump family trying to take over public land to develop a luxury resort. In India, following the momentum from protests over the summer, demonstrations erupted in response to the removal of around 130 million names from voter rolls.
Around the world, we are facing the same worsening conditions. And the collective actions of people in one place are inspiring and motivating others to take their own action. Those in positions of power realize the threat that these movements could become, and are responding with a heavy hand. In France, the government has tried to ban “illegitimate” demonstrations, and police violently maimed and beat up student protestors and arrested thousands. India locked down its capital and detained leaders of the demonstrations. Around Europe, batons, tear gas, and water cannons against demonstrators have become the norm. The message from those in power and the politicians who do their bidding is clear: we will only tolerate dissent through our system, through the ballot box.
But people around the world are realizing that just voting brings little or nothing when their whole system is killing us. It is becoming increasingly clear to many that elections for politicians put up by the rich and powerful have no real impact on our day-to-day lives. In India, the massive protests in July forced the resignation of a corrupt minister of education. The Spanish protests forced the government to reverse their eviction. Though these measures do not yet go far enough to really see sustained change, they show the potential of our power.
And this is not just happening elsewhere, we can see that when we respond and connect in workplaces, schools, and neighborhoods, this is where real change will come from. Look at how pushing back against ICE here in the U.S. really happened. It wasn’t politicians, it was us in the streets – in LA, Chicago, and especially in Minneapolis. The massive, organized resistance in the neighborhoods and in the streets forced the federal government to withdraw many ICE agents from Minneapolis. The increasing mobilization against data centers and surveillance, has forced politicians to back off of their support for projects headed by the billionaires. We are not going to give up our right to vote and to voice our opinions. But our real power comes from our collective action. Real democracy will come from us showing our power in the streets and organizing in our workplaces, neighborhoods, and schools to make decisions about what is needed, not to plead with politicians. If our needs aren’t met, then it is up to us to stop their business as usual and shape our own future.
