Conference: A new impulse for progressive politics: Defending democracy and shaping the work of the future, 26 – 27 September 2019, Montevideo, Uruguay

Dear Comrades, Dear Friends,

It is a great honour for the Progressive Alliance, together with the Progressive Alliance of the Americas and our host, the Socialist Party of Uruguay (PSU), to invite you to the conference “A new impulse for progressive politics: Defending democracy and shaping the work of the future” on 26-27 September 2019 in Uruguay, where presidential and parliamentary elections will take place in October. At this crucial moment, we want to make our contribution to a victory of the progressive forces.

But defending democracy and shaping the work of the future goes far beyond Uruguay or America, as these are the great challenges we face as socialist and progressive parties and organizations all over the world.

Right-wing populist and autocratic forces are becoming increasingly aggressive in claiming a prerogative to determine what democracy is. Their excessive hateful rhetoric disregards everything that socialists and progressives have managed to establish as a culture of democratic debate in our countries. In addition to the questioning of our democratic achievements a complete digitalization is taking place in all areas of life and at an incredible speed which is increasingly dividing our societies. Yet, apart from its polarizing potential, digitalization also offers huge emancipatory and unifying opportunities.

Whether defending our democracies or shaping the work of the future, we need an effectively functioning and strong state, a broad social alliance to push back the market logic that has taken control over more and more areas of our life in recent decades.

For us, democracy and the work of the future is equivalent to a culture of working together instead of against each other. We want a society based on solidarity and not on competition. We want to use innovations and technology to open up new possibilities instead of being pushed by them. We want to achieve fair participation for all those who are working hard to create values. We want equal power and equal opportunities to participate in decision-making and benefit from social prosperity. Where there are unequal power relations, be it at the workplace, in the economy, politics or society, socialist and progressive forces must stand on the side of those who are fighting against these inequalities.

Furthermore, following our conference, there will be a meeting of the Progressive Alliance of the Americas to discuss current developments on the continent.

Dear comrades, dear friends, this conference will not only be an excellent occasion to continue our political debates. It will also be a splendid opportunity to exchange experiences, to learn about best practices and to deepen our progressive network.

For more information about the conference, please find enclosed the draft program, the technical details and the registration form.

Please get registered for the conference in Uruguay at the latest on 12 September 2019.

We are looking forward to the confirmation of your participation and to seeing you in Montevideo.

Kind regards,

Konstantin Woinoff