Stories
Interweaving with John Collins: Thinking Critically About the Ceuta Story
Listening to the voices of the people who are at the center of global migration flows, says Collins, is necessary in order to get to the most urgent question: why do we allow this system of global apartheid to continue?
Lessons from Ceuta: State Failures and Local Solidarities
Cities and communities cannot wait for Europe to resolve its endless arguments about migration, deterrence and responsibility sharing, writes Dr. Myriam Cherti for openDemocracy.
What’s Left in Spain: “Housing, Housing, Housing”
As leftist parties in Spain work to build a unified strategy in advance of national elections in 2027, John Collins writes that the country’s most pressing issue - a lack of affordable housing - is poised to play a key role.
Madrid Marks Nakba Day, Mobilizes Again for Palestine
On Sunday, May 17, residents of all ages took to the streets of the Spanish capital, Madrid, to march in solidarity with the Palestinian people in their struggle against colonial domination and violence.
When Repression Wears a Suit: How Law Became the World’s Most Powerful Weapon Against Dissent
In the first installment of her mini-series, Defending the Defenders: The Global Rise of Legalized Repression, Gaia Guatri examines how repression is evolving to encompass lawfare, judicial harassment, detention, and other forms of “legal containment.”
What’s Left in Spain: Responses to Rufián Reveal Old Divisions and New Opportunities
John Collins surveys some of the key perspectives within an ongoing dialogue about the present and future of Spain’s perpetually fragmented Left. Is a change on the horizon?
What’s Left in Spain?
Gabriel Rufián’s surprising call for new thinking among Spain’s leftist parties seeks to change the conversation and spark a unified struggle against the far right. Will it work?
Crashing the Truth: Spain Faces an Avalanche of Right-Wing Disinformation Following Rail Disaster
The far right is on the march in public discourse, but media watchdogs and grassroots solidarity provide important counterweights.
El Palo: Under the Eyes of Saint Carmen
Inna Saribekyan reports from the Malaga neighborhood where the patron saint of fishermen is ever-present.
Global Indigenous Peoples News Bulletin #9 (October 2025)
News on extractive industries, AI, the rights of nature, and struggles over Indigenous Peoples Day.
Beyond the Bullfights: Madrid Rises Again for Palestine
John Collins listens as the people’s voice gets louder
As Gaza Flotilla Launches in Spain, People Power Confronts State Complicity
“They are united in their crimes, and we are united in our solidarity”
Always Already Anti-Fascist: Lessons From a Lifelong Spanish Militant
Cristina Farré: “We have to try and give it our all”
Israel’s Killing of Journalists in Gaza Echoes US Invasion of Baghdad
From Jose Couso to Mariam Abu Daqqa
Activists Under Fire: The Rising Criminalization of Civil Movements Across Europe
On May 22, 2024, the air outside Berlin’s Humboldt University was thick with tension. Over a hundred people had peacefully gathered at Universitätsstraße in solidarity with a group of students. The students had occupied the nearby Institute for Social Sciences and renamed it Jabalia Institute after one of the largest refugee camps in Gaza—known as a historic stronghold of resistance. Their voices rose together in steady, rhythmic chants, demanding peace and justice for people facing genocide and violence in Palestine and Lebanon.
The Danger of the Far Right Occupying Brussels
In his latest analysis of the European political and economic scene, Fernando Luengo argues that the ascent of the far right in the run-up to the 2024 European parliamentary elections cannot be separated from the ongoing problem of rising inequality and the fundamental influence of private capital in the public sector.
Life is Already Serious: A Report from the Madrid Student Encampment
John Collins and Derek Sherrange report from Madrid, Spain, where students are turning up the heat on universities that remain complicit in the ongoing genocide in Gaza.
Interweaving with Jorge Ramos Tolosa: Spain’s First Student Encampment for Palestine
To learn more about the first encampment in Valencia, I reached out to Dr. Jorge Ramos Tolosa, who teaches contemporary history at UV. In addition to his scholarship and teaching, he is a longtime activist with BDS Valencia and the Red Solidaria contra la Ocupación de Palestina (RESCOP), a network of Spanish organizations working in solidarity with Palestine.
War, War, and War
In his latest column, economist Fernando Luengo writes ot the warlike climate that is growing in Europe and how it directly shapes a range of problems facing people across the continent and beyond.