Want to resist in Trump’s second term? Look to Brazil for inspiration

Like many Americans who find themselves on the Left or among the independents and anti-Trump Republicans in coalition with Democrats, the results of the 2024 elections stung. We are fearful and anxious about rightward shift we saw in voters — whether it’s from the exit polls or anecdotes of the increased Trump support amongst people in our lives. We feel heartbroken, a sense that a cold cynicism spread through our country and returned such a dishonorable man into the White House.

There will be those across the political spectrum analyzing why the American people re-elected Donald Trump, gave the Republican Party a governing mandate, and what the Democratic Party needs to do to regain some of the support it has lost. It’s safe to surmise that Democrats will likely be overly self-denigrating and the intra-party pugilism will continue at least until the midterms. While Republicans will likely be overly self-aggrandizing in their win, having control of both houses of Congress and the White House will allow them to implement much of their agenda with minimal legislative impediment.

Ultimately, those of us on the Left who believe in a more egalitarian, pluralistic society where everyone’s basic needs are met, corporate power is constrained, the values embedded in our liberal democracy are defended and that…