2026: The Year the People Take Their Power Back
A Global Uprising Against Economic Inequality, Democratic Backsliding, and Oppression
From the streets of Atlanta where “No Kings” protesters challenge presidential overreach, to the boulevards of Paris where millions stand in solidarity against austerity demanding “Block Everything” 2025 has revealed a people on fire. As we stand on the threshold of 2026, a clear pattern emerges, people across the globe are rising against the same fundamental threats to their dignity, democracy, and economic survival.
The protests that have swept the planet in 2025 are not isolated incidents but interconnected expressions of a shared global crisis. The catalysts lie in three fundamental crises that transcend borders: crushing economic inequality, the erosion of democratic institutions, and the systematic oppression of ordinary people by increasingly powerful governments.
The numbers tell a stark story. In Argentina, President Milei’s societal shock therapy has created the first budget surplus in 14 years—but at the cost of massive cuts to subsidies that millions relied upon for survival. In France, Macron’s proposed 2026 budget cuts have triggered the largest labor mobilization in years, with over one million protesters rejecting austerity measures. In the United States, the “Make Billionaires Pay” movement explicitly challenges the concentration of wealth among the elite while working families struggle with housing, healthcare, and education costs.
Perhaps equally as troubling as economic hardship is the systematic assault on democratic institutions occurring simultaneously across continents. In Georgia, international monitors documented widespread election fraud, vote-buying, and intimidation that triggered months of pro-democracy protests. In Serbia, the collapse of a railway station that killed 16 people became a symbol of governmental corruption and incompetence, sparking one of the largest, sustained anti-corruption protests in history.
In the United States, the “No Kings” protests represent a fundamental rejection of presidential authoritarianism, while Slovak protesters challenge Prime Minister Fico’s increasingly pro-Russia, anti-democratic stance. These movements share a common understanding: democracy is not a spectator sport, and when institutions fail to represent the people’s will, the people must act directly.
The New Language of Resistance
What makes 2025’s protest movements unique is their sophisticated understanding of power and their innovative tactics. France’s “Block Everything” movement began on social media, but swiftly took that grassroots organizing to a national scale. Serbian students have shown how sustained, peaceful occupation can maintain pressure on governments while building broad public support. American anti-deportation protesters have created networks of mutual aid and rapid response that protect vulnerable communities. These movements have learned from each other, sharing tactics across borders and building solidarity across continents. We must continue that work in the coming year.
2026: The Convergence Point
As 2026 approaches, these individual streams of resistance are converging into a global river of change. The patterns are unmistakable: governments implementing similar oppressive policies are facing similar popular resistance. This convergence suggests that 2026 MUST be the year when isolated national protests become a coordinated global movement. The communication networks exist. The shared analysis of problems is developing and tactical knowledge is being exchanged. Most importantly, the understanding that local struggles are part of global systems is taking root.
The Power of Collective Recognition
What governments worldwide have underestimated is the power of collective recognition—the moment when people realize their individual struggles are shared experiences, and their isolated protests are part of a worldwide uprising – THAT is the moment governments all around the world fear. This recognition is transformative because it breaks the artificial boundaries that keep movements separated and governments safe. When we finally look around and recognize that our fellow countryfolk are NOT the enemy, once we realize we are ALL citizens of the world and act accordingly, their safety will be obliterated. From Prime Minister to President to wannabe King, they are all faces of the same power maintaining coin (maybe even Crypto coin if you’re living in America).
The governments implementing these policies depend on isolation—keeping movements focused only on local issues, preventing international solidarity, maintaining the illusion that each crisis is unique and nationally specific. Unfortunately, for those who rule – the global nature of power, control and the resistance are now visible to anyone paying attention.
Looking Forward: The Promise of 2026
As we enter 2026, the question is not whether people will continue to resist—the momentum is too strong and grievances too deep. The question is whether this resistance can mature into sustained, coordinated global action capable of challenging the systems creating these problems. I believe it can and must.
The early signs are promising. Student and Labor movements are building international networks. Digital organizing platforms are connecting local struggles to global movements. Most importantly, people are beginning to understand that their individual liberation is tied to collective action.
2026 is primed to be the year the people take their power back—not through isolated national revolts, but through coordinated global action that recognizes the interconnected nature of both oppression and liberation. As we foster and nurture these international communities we will begin to see; the people TRULY united will never be divided, and the systems that divide us are becoming increasingly unsustainable.
The protests of 2025 are the warning. The movements of 2026 will be the reckoning.
None of us are free until all of us are free.
C’mon…it’s ok, grab my hand… and be free with me.
Seneca Nation VS The City of Buffalo
Seneca Nation’s legal position:
The Seneca Nation Settlement Act of 1990, Section 8(c), allows the Nation to use settlement funds to reacquire land within its aboriginal territory.
Once the Department of the Interior approves such land for “restricted fee status,” it is treated as sovereign tribal territory.
Interior finalized restricted fee status for the Miami Street parcel in 2023 (decision letter dated Feb. 14, 2023).
The Nation’s position is that the city has no jurisdiction over the parcel, so municipal zoning and waterfront plans don’t apply.
The City of Buffalo’s arguments:
The city argues the parcel doesn’t qualify under the 1990 Act. It claims either the designated settlement funds were already exhausted, or the land was improperly transferred through a corporate gaming subsidiary rather than directly by the Nation which is false but is the City bitching about “shell companies”?? Because I promise they don’t want to open that door!! You tell the Mayor THAT!
The city cites a 2006 agreement in which the Nation allegedly represented it wouldn’t acquire more Buffalo land for gaming operations.
The Nation’s response is that a gas station is a commercial enterprise, not a gaming operation.
The city’s own record
In August 2023, Buffalo’s Department of Assessment and Taxation verified the parcel’s restricted fee status.
Since 2024, city tax rolls have coded the parcel as “Indian Reservation” and exempted it from local property taxes.
Unless a federal court overturns Interior’s 2023 decision, federal law likely controls over municipal planning.
I.E. – The City can go FUCK itself.