John,
To fight authoritarianism at home, we have to fight it across the globe — because its reach doesn’t stop at our borders.
And neither can our resistance.
I spent the last two weeks of August traveling to different countries — learning, connecting, and building our international progressive network with extraordinary leaders across the world.
What I found was a simple, but powerful truth: this is a global movement. And we are not alone.
Our first stop was in Montevideo, Uruguay. I led the U.S. delegation to the PanAmerican Congress — a gathering of progressive legislators from 17 countries across the Western Hemisphere focused on shared prosperity, security, and peace. I spoke at the opening ceremony about our movement’s opposition and resistance to the Trump administration’s military aggression.
What struck me most was how universal our fight feels right now — because it is.
Leaders from across Latin America are grappling with the same forces we are. The rise of authoritarianism, the erosion of democratic normalcy, and the need to build sustained people-powered movements that have the ability to endure beyond the current moment.
Then as I was making my way across Europe, I noticed a pattern in every country I visited: Healthcare, paid leave, childcare.
European countries have built social safety nets that give working families more control over their lives. Our country hasn't. And I believe that absence, that feeling of instability, is exactly what makes it easier for politicians to point the finger at our most vulnerable people instead of addressing the real failures of our system.
I traveled to Madrid, where Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s government is one of the most encouraging examples of progressive governance in Europe right now.
I met with ministers on transportation, civil service, and leaders in migration policy — and what I heard was devastating. Trump’s cruel anti-immigrant agenda is already rippling outward, emboldening right-wing forces across the continent and making the work of humane migration policy harder everywhere.
I sat down with the chair of Left Bloc, who told me all about their citizens’ initiative to stop funding Israel’s genocide in Gaza. It had over a million signatures. That’s what people power looks like.
From Madrid, I traveled to Berlin — and the conversations there were some of the most clarifying of the trip.
I met with leaders from every major party in Germany, and what I heard was a mix of fear and determination. The far right is rising there, and they’re watching what’s happening in America very closely. But here’s the thing — so is the left. There was a real hunger to understand how we’re organizing, how we’re getting our message out, and how we stand up for working people every single day.
In Ireland, I had a conversation at Trinity College Dublin with national treasure and journalist Fintan O'Toole. It was honest, and deeply grounding. He reminded me that democracies have come back from darker moments than this one — staying in the fight is itself a form of hope.
And the moment that will truly stay with me for a lifetime happened in Northern Ireland. I attended a retreat bringing together 30 Palestinian and Israeli young women leaders, all actively engaged in peacebuilding in their region. To sit in that room and witness that kind of courage and compassion was a reminder that we must never surrender to hopelessness or powerlessness.
I was moved when I learned that some of the organizers there had drawn direct inspiration from our Resistance Lab in building their own organizing model.
That is our movement bearing fruit, John. The work we’re doing together is reaching further than we could ever imagine.
I came home with a full heart and an even deeper commitment to this work. It has never been clearer: the rise of fascism and authoritarianism is a global fight. And so is the resistance.
I’m more committed than ever to building our global network of progressives. People who are organized, connected, and fighting together to put power back into the hands of everyday people everywhere.
In solidarity,
Pramila Jayapal
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