We live in a time marked by the collapse of socialism worldwide, converging with the reconstruction and relaunch of capitalist hegemony supported by the technological revolution: robotics, computer science, fiber optics, artificial intelligence, and its massive incursion into international communications and relations. All of this is geared toward perfecting the plunder and appropriation of natural resources inhabited by other (subordinate) peoples and establishing new geopolitical positions that destroy the international law of the world system that existed until recently. This is happening and growing constantly and exponentially before everyone's eyes, without any concrete and clear alternatives to such deliberate destruction of human life and nature in sight.

In less than 20 years, the global machinery of the powerful had already readjusted and adapted to the new unipolar world system and was preparing—and continues to prepare—for the total and absolute conquest of life on the planet, that is, of the resources for life and of human life in its entirety. The promising horizon of a bright future for socialism as a path to collective happiness vanished in the hands of victors determined to do anything to definitively stifle any way of life that did not conform to their designs. Despite this, the BRICS+ emerged strengthened and expanded as an international actor that cannot be ignored by the self-proclaimed "master of the world," shaking the foundations of unipolarity and demonstrating the existence of a multipolar world, which—in its readjustment—could become tripolar.

This constant uncertainty blurred the horizons of a future of justice and peace for all, a future toward which the struggles of peoples for their rights and happiness could be directed. The left and progressivism—with their political structures—weakened, revealing an inability to read and understand the current world system, constantly changing and reconfigured under the tug-of-war of imperial power, with its diversified actors and mechanisms of exploitation, and with renewed and expanded means of ideological and cultural domination for the subjugation of humanity to the designs of capital and its ever-increasing ambitions. It is as if they have internalized the idea that "it is impossible" to escape capitalism; thus, it would be impossible to live outside the dictates of capital.

This raises many questions to consider when thinking about popular alternatives, particularly in our continent. Among them, we highlight the following:

Is a society beyond capitalism possible? The possible answers to this question, which could be developed by the left or progressive movements, are among their key challenges today. And it calls upon us all to reconsider popular alternatives to capitalism, starting from the recognition of the defeat of (actually existing) socialism worldwide and, along with it, perhaps, of the ideals it proposed and their continued relevance. This is the debate we propose.

Recent election results across the continent mark the birth, growth, and political-ideological rise of right-wing and far-right forces. This is partly due to the left's failure to adequately address the crisis, and also to the erosion of progressive governments that failed to deliver on their redistributive promises, while many continued with the extractive model. In this way, a radical right wing has appropriated not only the streets but also some of the left's banners.

Ignoring this reality, far from helping to maintain the socialist proposal as part of the utopia of people's liberation, has distanced it and even almost denied it as a viable possibility. The tentacles of media, ideological, and political power—the power of capital—work tirelessly with all the forces at their disposal to ensure that defeat translates into collective frustration and the disappearance of any hopeful horizon. Hence, to the surprise of many centrist and left-wing political parties and their social circles, the resurgence of forces with figures who praise a past that was believed to have been definitively overcome by humanity and the democratic commitment leaves them in a position of astonishment, incapable of reacting politically to the retrograde approaches that these individuals have revived and now present as achievements of a necessary rationality, which, with them, is supposedly recovering the social weight that was stripped from it by leftists, populists, and followers of the so-called "woke" agenda.

Core concepts:

The concept of "defeat" is assumed in this study to be a transversal characteristic of the current situation of capital's predominance and widespread abuse of life, a situation exacerbated after the disappearance of socialism as a world system. This reality encapsulates and defines this era, in addition to what has occurred in local processes at certain points in its history, as a time of global defeat for the working class and of uncertainty regarding the prospect of socialist revolution as an effective overcoming of all the ills of capitalism. This is currently expressed not only in the constant erosion of the historical gains of workers' rights, but also in the obscuring of the historical horizon for overcoming capitalism or the possibility of achieving it.

This shifts the focus back to alternatives and the individuals capable of creating, defining, and implementing them. It also reopens controversies and debates about the role of the left, progressive movements, and populist movements: On what basis do they define themselves as such in terms of societal transformation? What are, or would be, the central tenets of their economic, political, and social proposals?

Clearly, if we are to address the search for alternatives in times of the hegemony of the defeated socialist proposal of the 20th century, our reflections must also analyze the role of the right and far right in the current recomposition/regeneration of capitalism in its quest to control and dominate all the planet's resources for its own benefit. All of this implies examining the mechanisms, tools, and methods of current hegemony construction: that of the (far) right and of possible popular alternatives. This gives rise to questions such as the following: What would be the central proposals in the economic, political, social, and cultural spheres? What can be presented as progress on these proposals? Who would be the protagonists? What kind of democracy would need to be built to sustain and develop these proposals? What would be the relationship between the State, public policies, and popular social participation? What kind of (left-wing) political organization is required to carry out these tasks?

The participants of the new Working Group LEFTISTS and LATIN AMERICAN AND CARIBBEAN SOCIOPOLITICAL REALITIES will address the challenge of thinking about alternatives in these times of defeat, taking the questions presented above as a guide for the path proposed by the previous CLACSO Working Group (2022-2025): "Leftists and social struggles in Latin America".

As we noted in our previous Working Group (2022-2025): “Leftists and Social Struggles in Latin America,” which this will continue, in recent decades a sector of the global intelligentsia has been engaged in open debates surrounding the left. The emergence—and the need—for an alternative, particularly in the context that has unfolded since 2006, and the serious global capitalist crisis in which we find ourselves, have been significant concerns. The relevance of the left as an analytical category, its characterization, the continued validity—or lack thereof—of the projects it once championed, interpretations of its historical trajectory, its successes and defeats are all subjects of analysis and debate. Added to this is the diversity and abundance of individual and collective research, seminars and conferences, edited volumes, and documentaries that focus primarily on the relevance and identity of contemporary leftist movements in general. The same academic, political, and social intensity can be found in the context of recent commemorations that trigger memory and feature the left as a protagonist. Such is the case with the 100th anniversary of the Russian Revolution, the University Reform of Córdoba, or the 50th anniversary of May '68 (Herrera 2017, Aguirre 2013, Marchesi 2019).

In Latin America in particular, the concern surrounding the future of the left is not merely a matter of remembrance but a space for debates that aim to assess the possibilities of its political activity in the pursuit of specific goals or horizons, such as those directed toward participation in, conquest of, or administration of the State to transform society. This is evidenced by the questions, expectations, and/or critiques opened up, for example, by the cycle of both so-called "21st-century socialism" and the self-designated "progressive" governments—a cycle that inaugurated a process of reflection by intellectuals from diverse regions interested in closely following not only its development and field of possibilities for realizing an alternative proposal in diverse contexts and processes such as Venezuela, Bolivia, Ecuador, Argentina, Brazil, Nicaragua, or Paraguay, but also its capacity to realize a joint regional project (Modonesi and Webber 2019; Boron 2019; Ruiz 2019). It is also necessary to consider the recent cycle of protests across the continent, which has resulted in the electoral victories of new left-wing movements, as in Chile, Colombia, and Brazil, ushering in a new political cycle with a left-leaning orientation. Another important contextual element to consider in the emergence of debates about the "future" of the left globally is the rise of the far right or radical right in Europe over the last decade and the emergence of right-wing governments in our continent in recent times.

Thus, from political, sociological, and historical perspectives, we observe a surge in research and discussion, to which the work and proposals stemming from this Working Group's trajectory have undoubtedly contributed. The effort has focused on participating in the current debate, primarily by revisiting and problematizing its historical trajectory and its persistence to the present day. Various texts have addressed the processes of politicization, the commitment, and the "rebellion" that came with being on the left. The identity construction and political culture of its members, the diversity of its organizational expressions, intellectual networks, and connections with social movements and their main struggles were some of the topics explored. Ultimately, we assume that being on the left implies a decision, an ethical/political stance, and a challenging practice that transforms reality, anchored in traditions (Williams, 2009) and future horizons.

These are the reflections we intend to channel with GT's new proposal on the topic: "LATIN AMERICAN AND CARIBBEAN LEFTISTS and SOCIOPOLITICAL REALITIES".