For R10: Building an International Student Movement

James Hernández argues for R10: “Building an International Student Movement” and building connections with student organizers fighting imperialism and capitalism around the globe.

Around the world, billions of people are exploited under the boot of capitalism and imperialism. Despite this, U.S. internationalist socialist movements remain nascent and plagued by factional debate. U.S. foreign policy has often championed interventionism, such as funding counterrevolutionary forces in Chile and Haiti, deepening global inequalities, while popular left elects like Bernie Sanders and AOC focus almost entirely on domestic “bread and butter” issues with a superficial consideration for internationalism.

As socialists in the U.S., we must make it our mission to dismantle U.S. imperialism and capitalism, which drive global inequality. As the U.S. has expanded its global network, policymakers abroad have taken note and facilitated the exploitative activities of American big business and imperialism. The liberation of working people from capitalism and imperialism cannot be achieved without solidarity with the international working class.

YDSA should build up the international student movement to fight back against U.S. imperialism and capitalism. Socialist organizations, labor unions, student unions, and other activist groups from around the world are organizing various events, such as the People’s Summit in Brazil and the Ecosocialism Conference in Australia, as well as mobilizations for the right to self-determination across Latin America, including Panama. These events offer us critical lessons, allowing us to sharpen our analysis and organizing at home, as well as build the connections necessary to forge a movement beyond borders. 

We can understand the politics of international solidarity by looking at the COP30 in Brazil. This year, the COP is being hosted in Belem, Brazil, in the Amazon Rainforest. This event presents an opportunity for states to produce an agreement, likely in favor of fossilism updating emissions targets. While Lula’s social democratic government entertains the demands of extractivism at the COP, Brazilian workers, students, and social movements are ready to fight back by collaborating to host an alternative People’s Summit ahead of and parallel to the event. This summit will include hundreds of organizations, from climate nonprofits to labor unions to the national student union (UNE). The People’s Summit represents a desire for profound political change, shifting away from corporate diplomacy and toward class struggle —a desire that has been challenging to manifest in U.S. climate justice movements. YDSA members can look to the People’s Summit to learn from climate movements with a more robust class struggle perspective and apply those lessons at home. Many members, including myself, have already had fruitful conversations about sending observers to the summit. These opportunities must be extended to the whole of YDSA, not just members of particular caucuses.

There are significant advances in the student movement across the globe. However, there are obstacles to engaging with these struggles, one being the language barriers. Most first-hand accounts of contemporary developments in the student movement are usually only available in the local language, an issue I frequently encountered when researching student movements in Brazil and Iran. The second is finding sources about working-class organizations or mass movements that aren’t funded by the U.S. State Department. This was certainly challenging while researching the labor and student movement in Panama. This movement has been coalescing against the Trump takeover of the Panama Canal and Law 462, a law that sought to privatize Panamanian Social Security, which has been disastrous for pensions. We can try to overcome these obstacles by building relationships with local organizers and engaging directly with the sources of local struggles. When speaking directly with organizers, we can engage translators to gain a more holistic understanding of international struggles.

We should invite representatives from the international student movement to our major national events, like the YDSA conference, so they may be able to offer their perspective in ongoing national debates as well as gain an understanding of the growing U.S. socialist student movement. NCC members should also seek out opportunities to attend events abroad that are critical developments in the student movement and share those lessons with YDSA when possible. One such event could be the annual convention of UNE, Brazil’s national student union, where they elect new leadership and vote on proposals–much like our YDSA convention.

The far right is growing across the world, and it’s right in our backyard with Donald Trump’s second term. It is not enough for Y/DSA to continue relying on surface-level diplomacy or isolating our international work without building relationships beyond the U.S. Now is the time for YDSA to open doors for productive conversations and even coordinate across borders on international campaigns!

For these reasons, I encourage YDSA members to vote in favor of R10: “Building an International Student Movement” at YDSA Convention!