Esperanza Crítica: A Gathering of Left Publications
Dates: October 13–16, 2026
Venue: Casa de la Primera Imprenta (UAM), Historic Center of Mexico City
This article was originally published in Spanish by Revista Común on September 17, 2026.
Leer este artículo en español.
Left publications seem to face a challenge from the outset: how to reconcile political commitment with rigorous reporting. However, we do not believe there is any conflict between taking a position and treating current events with rigor. We are convinced that the most dangerous form of bias—and the gravest form of intellectual dishonesty—lies in concealing the point of view that guides interpretation. We therefore reject the idea that neutrality is a prerequisite for objectivity. Rather, we understand objectivity as a horizon of understanding that we can approach only by making our position explicit and reexamining it in light of reasoned arguments and against the very facts we seek to explain. This mode of partisan news coverage, which requires us at every turn to trace the structural causes behind events, becomes all the more urgent and necessary as the political and information ecosystem grows increasingly hostile.
That is why, now more than ever, we must take time to reflect on the role that critical analysis of the present can play as a form of resistance and an instrument of transformation within a media environment that is facilitating the rise of the far right. It is not enough simply to denounce the xenophobic, racist, neo-reactionary, and techno-solutionist content of the messages proliferating across different information spaces. We must also explain why these messages resonate so deeply within society, identify the platforms that amplify them, and unravel the material and symbolic conditions that enable their mass reception. Ultimately, trying to understand the causes and consequences of the right’s growing power, its relationship to the transformation of the media ecosystem, and the place left publications currently occupy within it has become an imperative task, one that requires a profound exercise of reflection.
We suspect, however, that we will be better able to carry out this task collectively, among those of us in the left hemisphere who share critical diagnoses of the present, emancipatory visions of the future, and practical challenges in sustaining our respective information strategies. The difficulties left publications must overcome are many and well known: reduced teams, precarious funding, unfavorable conditions of competition with large media conglomerates, and a lack of spaces for the systematic exchange of experiences and strategies. In this sense, the challenge of understanding the advance of the new right is also a challenge to rethink our own practices, with the aim of strengthening our spaces of communication to confront the onslaught of reactionary narratives and convey new forms of sensibility and understanding.
With the aim of reflecting collectively on both of these challenges, Revista Común has invited 11 editorial projects from different countries to gather in Mexico City around a series of fundamental questions. What does it mean today to define ourselves as a left publication? How do publications of this kind position themselves in relation to the ascendant right? How can we sustain a critical stance that allows us to identify the internal contradictions and mistakes of politically aligned positions without benefiting our political adversaries? How can we confront problems of funding and precarity, or the capture of our attention by digital environments, without relinquishing our independence? What processes—from editing to our relationships with contributors—should we preserve or change in order to sustain a coherent editorial line in adverse political and information environments? How can we build a stable network of collaboration among publications that promotes co-publishing initiatives, spaces for reflection, or the development of common protocols on issues such as gender and the use of AI?
We are almost certain that virtually none of these questions will yield a single, complete, or definitive answer. Nonetheless, we believe that continuing to pose them and thinking through them collectively, both during and after the gathering, will itself constitute a form of response. We hope that in the process we can nourish a critical view of the world while also collectively reclaiming reasons for hope—somewhat against the grain of catastrophist narratives that, far from proposing solutions, lead instead to paralysis.
The event Esperanza Crítica: A Gathering of Left Publications will take place from October 13 to 16 at Metropolitan Autonomous University (UAM)’s Casa de la Primera Imprenta (Lic. Primo Verdad No. 10, Historic Center of Mexico City). There, we will have the privilege of spending several days with publications from different parts of the world, though primarily from Latin America: Brecha, from Uruguay; Crisis, from Argentina; Enclave Salvaje, from Bolivia; Historical Materialism en Español and the NACLA Report, from the United States; Jacobin Latinoamérica, with offices in Argentina but a transnational team; Mídia Ninja and Revista Rosa, from Brazil; Plaza Pública, from Guatemala; Revista Izquierdas, from Chile; and Sin Permiso, from Spain.
In the coming days, we will announce the program of public activities—some of which will require advance registration—along with additional details, so we invite you to keep an eye on Revista Común’s social media channels. We hope you can join us to discover the remarkable work being carried out in other parts of the world and to engage in dialogue together.
Published by Revista Común.
Translated from Spanish by NACLA.