Desiderius Erasmus, the man from Rotterdam, wrote a long and complex essay on human folly in his time, at the beginning of the 16th century.

He dedicated it to the fall of all the institutions that governed daily life as they were known then, and promoted a new orthodoxy that would form the basis of a school of thought that we still find among us today.

I simplify Erasmus’s Praise because I do not have the time or the ability to dissect his stroke of genius. And also because that is not the purpose of this text. What brings me to the fore, discussing madness and contradictions, calling for revolts and revolutions, leaving me speechless but never without action, is the end of time as we know it. As in Desiderius’ time, humanity is witnessing a formative moment. A new tomorrow is approaching. At that time, the spirit of the Renaissance was alive, with all its rot and potential. Today, it is the spirit of postmodernism and rabid capitalism, with all its perks and too many flaws.

I write these lines as I review the speech of the American dictator, on the podium of his White House, once a symbol of propaganda for a better world, now the center of a viperous circus of vanity and lies. I am not just watching the soundbites sold to us in the media. I am reviewing the speech in its entirety. I notice the aging mannerisms of a man on the verge of dementia. The lies he repeats, and how quickly he changes the subject when he gets lost. I observe the lackeys who surround him, she with dead eyes and a lost soul, he with a scornful smile and a bloodthirsty look, anticipating the slaughter.

I don’t know what will come of Trump’s decision to invade his own capital. We know, of course, that it is a measure without any possible justification, considering the available data indicating that crime has been inflated by the government itself to win supporters. Any resemblance to Carlos Moedas should not be overlooked. In the coming days, news will emerge quickly. I didn’t feel like writing about this topic now, but the voice inside me cries out for some way to vent the anguish of seeing the United States of America die on prime-time television. And I fear that we will be next.

Amidst the madness of the American dictator, there was talk of a meeting with Putin, which had already taken place in Alaska, despite being referred to as taking place in Russia. Linguistic lapses have long since ceased to be funny. There was talk of the war that the future Nobel Peace Prize winner admitted would soon end with an exchange of territories. Which is to say, with the capitulation of Europe and the rise of the new axis of evil, between Washington, dominated by shock troops, Moscow, controlled by Soviet-inspired espionage terror, and Tel Aviv, a war laboratory for the future of a humanity (even more) oppressed by big capital.

Here we are, then, in the final phase of the famous new world order. Two decades and change after the beginning of the century, with the most famous terrorist attack in recent history, the world has reached the limit of its capacity for survival. Shopping for two days costs the same as it did for two weeks just a few years ago. A house in the center of Angra do Heroísmo, for one person, costs more than half the minimum wage in Portugal. And politicians accept this reality coldly, as if it were the fault of a mother who wants to take care of her child for a few more days. Is it a case of letting things go and letting the weakest die?

Let’s go back to the United States. In New York, a politician named Zohran Mamdani has been making waves these days with a resounding victory in the primary election for the city’s next mayor. Against a powerful machine led by billionaires, blinded by Trumpism and old heads from the extreme center, Mamdani has built a popular movement against lawless capitalism, working to save endangered professions such as taxi drivers, focusing on concrete measures to improve access to housing, free public transportation, and other essential infrastructure that has been sucked dry by the vampire CEOs of this world. Zohran raised his arms against the system and declared that nothing would make sense from now on unless we changed.

Across the country, Bernie Sanders is filling halls, stadiums, and arenas in states historically associated with conservative thinking to convince Americans to fight for their survival. More taxes for the richest. More jobs, decent housing, healthcare for all, and adequate schools with valued education. Things that seem simple, but are now criminal in the eyes of the vampire-like CEOs who dominate the fascist far right sitting in Washington. The same has been done by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, one of the great hopes for the American future, who is leading movements and waves of support against the dictator, as well as against her own party colleagues who advocate maintaining the status quo.

Here we are, then, faced with a solution that seems increasingly like the last resort. Portugal is clearly moving towards an oppressive regime along the lines of Trumpism. Montenegro is irritated by the empathy of some of his opponents. Ventura wants to abolish the Constitution when it does not work for him. Everywhere, lies and liars are multiplying, with television commentators paid to destroy democracy and court jesters busy entertaining arguments worthy of Erasmus of Rotterdam’s essay. We have seen these films before. We are far from having troops marching in Lisbon. But we do not live in a world where this will be impossible to happen within less than a decade. Only those who do not want to see it are blind.

We therefore need new leaders. We need Zohran Mamdani and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. We need to hear wise voices that have been silenced by extreme centrism, just as Bernie was on the other side of the Atlantic. We need a movement to stop Ventura and his lackeys before he infects us all with his poisonous hatred. The local elections will be a good place to start. I intend to analyze the programs of the candidates for Angra do Heroísmo and Praia da Vitória soon. To understand what we can count on. And who is not counting on us.

I will end by lamenting the disastrous situation facing mainland Portugal. Fires that consume lives, side by side with an ineffective government that decided to party and toast at the Festa do Pontal, on the hot nights of the Algarve, announcing the return of Formula 1 to Portugal, instead of listening to the warnings of mayors and fire brigades fighting the flames. The fire raged with every glass of gin and beer. It was not the foam on the beer that fought, and continues to fight, the flames. It is the fire departments and the population. It is sad to see the abandonment of those people and the brazenness of Montenegro and Marcelo at their party celebrations.

Before we are left with nothing but madness, fight, because there may very well be no tomorrow.

Alexandra Manes is from Flores Island but lives on the island of Terceira in the Azores. She is a regular contributing writer for several Azorean newspapers, a political and cultural activist, and has served in the Azorean Parliament.

NOVIDADES will feature occasional opinion pieces from various leading thinkers and writers in the Azores, providing the diaspora and those interested in the current state of the Azores with insight into the diverse opinions on some of the archipelago’s key issues.

Translated to English as a community outreach program from the Portuguese Beyond Borders Institute (PBBI) and the Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures Department (MCLL).