Priyansh

This is a dangerous trend: Celebrating social media as the real agent of democratic struggles; and using social media to amplify that framing. Let’s look at it from another angle: Would all this skillful use of social media have this big of an effect 1) if Lula were not already associated with the successful welfare programs of the 20002; 2) if PT, PSOL, the unions, and other mass movements did not have decades of organizational capacity and networks to translate these social media posts to power in the streets; and 3) if the government had not made promises regarding wages and working hours right after the disastrous first round? I worry that this framing will have a negative effect on struggles throughout the world. Many people will think that they can win against fascism just through social media campaigns, without putting decades of work into mass organization and class-conscious policymaking. They will think that AI dances of aloof leaders will accomplish as much. We should NEVER let capital obscure the fact that it is a worker who has paid MATERIAL prices throughout his life and secured MATERIAL gains for tens of millions of people whose digital dance created this affect. (And thanks to the stupid wing of capital, represented by the Bolsonaro family, for reminding us of how Lula lost his finger). Even in Brazil, this framing could have the deleterious result of reinforcing Lula’s/PT’s shift to the center: govern like a centrist party, then throw a good social media campaign plus a couple of promises that you should have already delivered years ago, and you’ll win! Well… That approach will allow even Brazil’s relatively weak far right to take over more of the congress and other centers of power. Smart use of social media is a must. But it is not replacement for mass organization, good policy, and ultimately changing property relations. If we allow the top brackets to further monopolize wealth, our social media victories will be but a glitch. Writing this to honor my flesh-and-blood friends in Brazil who occupied the streets EVERY DAY in the last three weeks to topple the wannabe dictator.