US Midterm Elections and Beyond

Wednesday, July 18, 2018 - 7:00pm
Mark Bilker & Gregory Diamant

The 2016 U. S. election was a devastating loss for progressives in the United States. With the Republican sweep of both national and local offices, many of the gains and protections that had been taken for granted are being swept away. Ethical and financial corruption on a scale not seen since the “Gilded Age”, along with a stunning rise in inequality, are mobilizing people across age, racial and gender gaps to work for substantive change. The 2018 elections are occurring at a pivotal moment as the rise of an emboldened right wing has changed the complexion of the Republican Party while the Democratic Party seems to be caught in a dilemma that has it twisting between the expectations of its corporate donors and traditional politicians and a newly energized, more progressive base led by women and people of color. The New York governor’s primary race may offer a snapshot of the tensions facing the Democratic Party.

Mark Bilker, a San Miguel resident, is the Chairman of the Executive Committee of Democrats Abroad here in Mexico. He will bring his incisive analysis to the challenges that will be faced in the upcoming elections. While many are predicting a “blue wave” (perhaps more a feeling of hope than anything else) we will look to Mark for clarification of this and other issues that will shape this election.

Gregory Diamant, also a long time resident of San Miguel and a social justice activist for over 50 years, will discuss not only the elections but going beyond voting as a means to meaningful social change. What is the difference between mobilizing and organizing and what role do they play in our striving for justice?

CLICK HERE to read Gregory Diamant presentation

UPCOMING TOURS

March 3, 2025 to March 7, 2025

We will depart from San Miguel early in the morning to Patzcuaro, where we will spend three days. We will visit the most important buildings and churches in Patzcuaro and also visit a number of nearby indigenous villages:

Upcoming Forums & Films

Monday, January 13, 2025 - 1:30pm
CST
Jeff Faux
Location:
Join in Person at the Hotel Quinta Loreto Community Room

We are a week before the inauguration of an unstable megalomaniac, totally unfit to be president. His loyalists control the Congress and the Supreme Court. And his stated agenda could destroy American constitutional democracy.  Yet his political opposition hasn’t a clue how to respond.

The issue is not whether the Democrats... Read more

Monday, February 3, 2025 - 1:00pm
CST
José Alfredo Gutiérrez Falcón
Location:
Join in person at the Hotel Quinta Loreto Community Room

While much of the world is shifting to the right, Mexico is moving in a progressive direction. In 2018, the electoral victory of Andrés Manuel López Obrador of the National Regeneration Movement (MORENA party) initiated "The Fourth Transformation" which is working, against entrenched opposition,... Read more