The New Abraham Lincoln Brigade

I wish him well! (hfk)

Jorge G. Castañeda

Jorge G. Castañeda was Mexico’s Secretary of Foreign Affairs from 2000-2003, after joining with his ideological opponent, President Vicente Fox, to create the country’s first democratic government. He is currently Global Distinguished Professor of Politics and Latin American and Caribbean Studies at New York University, and is the author of The Latin American Left After the Cold War and Compañero: The Life and Death of Che Guevara.

APR 5, 2017 Project Syndicate

MEXICO CITY – During the Spanish Civil War, thousands of young Americans went to Spain to join the fight against fascism as part of the “Abraham Lincoln Brigade.” Today, as more people wake up to the threat that US President Donald Trump poses to the rule of law, human rights, and international order, a new global resistance movement is emerging to defend democracy and basic decency.

The resistance could adopt three tactics. One approach is simply to wait and hope that Trump is turned into a lame duck by damning revelations about his administration. Better yet, Trump could be impeached or removed from office under the 25th Amendment of the US Constitution, if enough members of his own government deem him incapable of carrying out the duties of the presidency.

A second, less optimistic tactic is to accept that Trump will complete his first term, and spend that time forging stronger alliances among the Democratic Party, the media, civil-society groups, and all other Trump opponents in academia, religious institutions, and labor unions.

The third option is to disrupt Trump’s agenda in the courts, with challenges to his travel bans, Mexican border wall, deportations, and proposals to cut funding for the United Nations and foreign-aid programs in Africa.