The third meeting of the International Organizing Committee of the International Antifascist and Anti-Imperialist Conference brought together activists from several continents, consolidated political and trade-union support, and debated the organizational challenges of the conference scheduled for March 2026.
The third meeting of the International Committee of the International Antifascist Conference and for the Sovereignty of Peoples, held last Wednesday (28 January 2026), confirmed the Porto Alegre conference as one of the major hubs of international antifascist and anti-imperialist coordination in the current historical period. The virtual meeting, which brought together nearly 60 activists from Latin America, North America, Europe, Asia, and Africa, took place in a context marked by the intensification of the imperialist offensive, the global rise of the far right, and flagrant violations of international law — such as the abduction of the President of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, and his spouse on 3 January 2026 by the United States army. Faced with this scenario, participants reaffirmed the urgency of building united, organized, and internationalist responses capable of articulating antifascist, anti-imperialist, anti-racist struggles and the defense of peoples’ sovereignty.
The meeting was opened by the president of PSOL in Rio Grande do Sul and member of the Local Committee, Gabrielle Tolotti, who highlighted the dual objective of the gathering: combining political debate with organizational guidance. Next, Porto Alegre city councillor and PSOL leader Roberto Robaina emphasized the political growth of the conference since the last international meeting.
“From the last meeting until today, our conference has gained strength, consistency, and representativeness, both internationally and nationally,” he stated, stressing the difficulties — and the strategic importance — of building a united initiative in the face of the historical fragmentation of the left.
Robaina placed the international moment as decisive for holding the conference.
“The need for antifascist coordination has never been more urgent, after such an unacceptable situation as this, where there has been the abduction of a president,” he declared, referring to Venezuela.
He also highlighted the impact of the international appeal articulated by CADTM and Eric Toussaint, which brought together hundreds of political, intellectual, and activist figures.
Eric Toussaint (CADTM) welcomed the success of the international appeal, while clarifying that there is no obligation to sign it in order for individuals and organizations to support and participate in the conference in Porto Alegre, from 26 to 29 March 2026.
“It was a manifesto in support of the conference and an affirmation of the fundamental principles that have guided us,” he assessed, recalling that the document even reached mainstream media, such as Folha de S. Paulo.
Taking the floor, Eric Toussaint detailed the broad international resonance of the appeal.
“We managed to reach a significant international audience. That was the objective of this appeal,” he explained.
“There was excellent dissemination in Spanish, as the Spanish daily Público.es published a piece on it, as did the Mexican daily La Jornada, the main — if not the only — major left-wing newspaper in Mexico, which circulated the appeal. In Portuguese, as Robaina mentioned, Folha de S. Paulo, a major mainstream newspaper, published a note; and the French outlet Blast, with 1.6 million subscribers, published the text on its front page, as did a blog hosted on Mediapart, another important alternative media outlet in France. In English, I would say it is impressive, particularly in Asia, where The Hindu, which prints over one million copies per day and has a very influential online portal, published a note that was subsequently reproduced by several printed newspapers of the Communist Party of India in national languages. In India, there are more than 90 or 100 languages, and the Communist Party of India publishes newspapers in several of them. The portal North East Now, the main news outlet in northeastern India, also published it. The manifesto was also published in Arabic on the CADTM website, and an anarchist website in the Netherlands translated it into Dutch. We hope that, thanks to your participation, there will be translations into Italian and other languages in the coming weeks or days.”
According to Toussaint, the manifesto had already gathered nearly 900 new signatures, including organizations such as the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), members of parliament from France, Spain, and Turkey, as well as activists from India, the Arab world, and sub-Saharan Africa. It is still possible to sign here.
The CADTM leader also brought a concrete concern to the meeting, raised in several interventions: the difficulties in obtaining visas, particularly for delegations from sub-Saharan Africa.
“For the CADTM delegate in Mali, the Brazilian embassy demanded 20 different documents. Mali is a country at war, and he had to risk his life to obtain one of them,” he denounced.
For Toussaint, the granting of courtesy visas should be treated as a diplomatic priority, as was the case during the editions of the World Social Forum.
The issue was taken up by Rodrigo Dilélio, president of the Workers’ Party (PT) in Porto Alegre, who stated that he is in contact with Itamaraty (the Ministry of Foreign Affairs) in order to seek solutions.
“Regarding visas for Brazil, the information we have, based on contact with the office of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, indicates that the procedure to speed up the process must be initiated through the regular, standard channel, and that once the application is filed, steps can be taken in Brasília to guarantee the presence of these comrades,” he explained, acknowledging the existence of bureaucratic obstacles not initially anticipated.
Dilélio also placed the conference within the Brazilian national context, marked by rising femicides and the public reorganization of far-right leaders.
“The public demonstrations of certain emerging figures from the fascist camp have worried us. There was a march near Brasília last week with around 20,000 people rallying around a young far-right leader who is openly fascist. And I say this to stress that holding this conference in Brazil, in Porto Alegre, will play a very important role in increasing our political understanding in this period,” he stated.
Gabrielle Tolotti intervened again to outline practical guidelines. She announced the creation of a specific chart to map, country by country, visa-related problems.
“I am certain that, through this exchange of information, we will be able to resolve this,” she said.
“And anyone who needs guidance or assistance can write to contacto@antifas2026.org. In fact, for any questions regarding the conference, we are always attentive to this email in order to resolve any situation.”
Gabrielle Tolotti then presented updates to the program on the event website https://antifas2026.org/en/ , which now includes activity schedules, such as the Forum of Antifascist Authorities and a large march on the opening day, as well as dozens of roundtables and self-organized activities. She also presented the different sections of the website — available in Portuguese, Spanish, French, and English — and reinforced the importance of completing pre-registration on the site https://antifas2026.org/en/ .
Subsequently, Eduardo Mancuso returned to the report on the Forum of Democratic Antifascist Authorities, which will take place on 26 March in the afternoon, detailing adjustments to the program in light of the international situation. According to him, the opening panel with left-wing parliamentarians from the Legislative Assembly has been maintained, but changes were made to the panel dedicated to international parliamentarians after the European Parliament scheduled a plenary session on the same date.
Eduardo Mancuso, responsible for preparing the forum of parliamentarians and local authorities, confirmed the participation of Spanish MEP Ana Miranda; French MP (LFI) Thomas Portes; British parliamentarian Zarah Sultana; and Brazilian senator Humberto Costa (PT).
Mancuso emphasized that the second panel, dedicated to the radicalization of democracy in popular governments, is fully confirmed, with the participation of a mayor from Rio Grande do Sul, the Minister of Labour of Uruguay’s Frente Amplio, the mayor of Recoleta (Chile), as well as figures such as Matteo Lepore, mayor of Bologna, and Abel Prieto, former Cuban Minister of Culture and member of the National Assembly of People’s Power.
Interventions by Participants
The interventions of international participants reinforced the plural and collective character of the process. From the Spanish state, Albert Sansano, from Intersindical Valenciana, suggested giving greater visibility to the organizations of the International Committee in the official program. From Portugal, Mariana Mortágua, from the Bloco de Esquerda, drew attention to the coincidence of dates with other international events and questioned how to broaden the political impact of the conference in European countries.
“For one reason or another, on the same dates we will have the Antifascist Conference in Rio Grande, a meeting of the Red Futuro Network in Uruguay, and also the launch of the new flotilla for Palestine, which will bring together many political figures and have significant scope. All of this will take place on exactly the same dates, and I think this raises questions about the availability of many people to participate. I wonder what has been considered regarding local mobilizations around this conference. In other words, in Portugal it will not be very easy to put together a group capable of participating and traveling to Brazil, because travel is expensive. How will movements be able to follow the conference?” she asked.
From Argentina, Felisa Miceli — coordinator of the Corriente Nacional y Popular 25 de Mayo and former Minister of Economy under the government of Néstor Kirchner — raised practical questions in her intervention:
“I have two questions. The first: is there a promoting committee for the meeting in Argentina? Because I understand that, given the proximity and the political situation we are living through — with a right-wing representative in government who is destroying everything — there should be many participants. And this is also a question aimed at articulating with others who would be able to promote the meeting and the conference.
The second question is practical, organizational: are there plans for accommodation recommendations based on where the conference will take place? If it is nearby, we will be able to move around more easily.”
Representatives of social and trade-union movements also made central contributions.
Andressa, from the Palestinian National Committee of BDS, emphasized the centrality of solidarity with Palestine.
“For us, within BDS, this intersection of struggles and antifascist resistance in the face of what is happening in Palestine — as a laboratory for what is also happening in the rest of the world — is fundamental. We make ourselves available to help build the events and, finally, the roundtables and everything related to solidarity with Palestine,” she stated.
Quintino Severo, from CUT, expressed political concerns regarding the drafting of the conference’s final declaration, advocating for a process that respects the diversity of the international trade-union movement.
“Perhaps we need to think about how the conference will conclude. How will the final declaration of the conference be constructed? I wanted to raise this political concern, because it has generated internal debates within the trade-union movement, not only in Brazil, but especially internationally. That is why I want to put our position on record: we want to deepen this process of debate. But, of course, we will participate in the construction and holding of the conference, especially since there is a roundtable very focused on the world of work, which we want to see take place and be very representative in terms of the debate,” he stated.
The Argentine situation also permeated the discussions, bringing the weight of the concrete conjuncture of the Southern Cone into the meeting. Jorgelina Matusevicius, from the organization Vientos del Pueblo, indicated that different entities are coordinating within the country to build a collective participation in the conference, in a context of a strong offensive against labor rights.
“We are living through a very turbulent January in Argentina, on the brink of a totally regressive labor reform, which constitutes a direct attack on the working people,” she stated.
According to her explanation, the mobilizations planned for February are directly linked to the Antifascist Conference in Porto Alegre.
“We are trying to create a state of mobilization and, at the same time, prepare for the trip, organize delegations, and even propose a self-organized activity on the Argentine situation,” she said, emphasizing the conference as a space for international coordination of resistance.
The participation of the education trade-union movement was also strengthened by the intervention of Carolina Lima, from ANDES-SN, who announced the organization’s formal endorsement of the conference.
“From ANDES – the National Union, we will sign the text that was sent and will immediately begin mobilizing our category to participate in the delegation to the Antifascist Conference,” she declared.
Carolina also drew attention to the urgency of integrating the fight against gender-based violence and LGBTphobia into the international debate.
“Brazil has once again become the country that murders the most trans and travesti people in the world, and femicide is becoming an epidemic phenomenon,” she warned, advocating for the creation of specific spaces within the conference to debate the vulnerability of the LGBT population and violence against women, both in Brazil and internationally.
The leader of the PCdoB and the party’s Secretary for International Relations, Ana Prestes, emphasized the organization’s commitment to building the conference and linked the Porto Alegre meeting to the worsening international situation.
“The imperialist offensive in our region has intensified in recent days, particularly after the abduction of President Nicolás Maduro and Deputy Cilia Flores, which has further reinforced the importance of the conference,” she stated. According to Ana, the scenario of authoritarian escalation tends to increase interest and participation in the event.
“The conference has been directly impacted by this new reality of the international situation, which increases both demand and organizational challenges. That is why our commitment is to help find solutions and to ensure a strong, representative conference that rises to the level of the political moment,” she concluded.
Bien sûr — voici la traduction complète en anglais, fidèle au registre politique et informatif du texte original.
The Secretary for International Relations of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), Jana Silverman, affirmed the intention to build a large delegation from the United States to participate in person in the conference, while emphasizing the severity of U.S. migration policy as an expression of structural racism and state violence. She recalled that, while two U.S. citizens have recently been killed by ICE, more than a dozen migrants have lost their lives over the past year as a result of actions carried out by this agency.
“This places at the center of the debate issues such as racism, xenophobia, and the question of which lives are considered disposable,” she stated, arguing that these themes run through the entire program of the conference.
Jana also raised practical concerns regarding the visa requirement for U.S. citizens entering Brazil, the need for points of contact in the event of possible bureaucratic obstacles, as well as logistical issues such as accommodation and simultaneous interpretation into English. She further proposed coordinating the participation of elected representatives linked to the DSA, strengthening the interest in contributing both politically and organizationally to the success of the meeting.
Márcia Campos, a leader of the PCdoB and member of the party’s National Women’s Secretariat, highlighted the historical and deeply symbolic dimension of the International Antifascist Conference for the global women’s struggle. Drawing on nearly two decades of leadership at the head of the International Democratic Federation of Women, Márcia stated that the current debate touches “the very heart of women,” particularly in the face of the massacre of mothers and children in Gaza, which has reignited feminist mobilization against imperialism and fascism. She also linked the holding of the conference in Brazil to the current geopolitical context, criticizing the posture of the United States in the region.
“We are living in a moment in which Latin America is once again treated as a backyard, as if, in the 21st century, a country or a continent could belong to someone,” she declared, emphasizing that holding the meeting on this territory carries strong political polarizing power and international mobilizing potential.
City councillor Luana Alves (PSOL – São Paulo) stressed that the recent international situation has given new political weight to the International Antifascist Conference, broadening the scope of public debate on imperialism, antifascism, and antiracism. According to her, since the beginning of January — and especially after the abduction of the President of Venezuela — the anti-imperialist struggle has taken on an unprecedented dimension in Latin America, no longer remaining a theme confined to organized activism alone.
“I have rarely seen the debate on the struggle against imperialism and antifascism reach such a level of mass participation,” she stated, assessing that the conference has a concrete opportunity to contest public consciousness and strengthen the forces of the international left.
For Luana, this process also reveals the racial character of the advance of the far right, which increasingly and openly resorts to white supremacism as a strategy for political mobilization. In this regard, she defended the idea that the conference explicitly assume an antiracist axis and consolidate itself as a space for international articulation between Black and Indigenous movements.
“Usually, in confronting fascism, we are pushed toward purely local forms of articulation. Here, we have the opportunity to build something on an international scale,” she emphasized, insisting on the importance of ensuring that these movements feel fully involved as participants and builders of the conference’s political process.
From Uruguay, Daniel Dalmao, of the Communist Party, officially confirmed the party’s participation as well as the presence of the Minister of Labour, Juan Castillo.
“There is a very combative and strong climate in favor of the participation of Uruguayans,” he stated, referring to the anti-imperialist mobilizations in the country.
Clarification of Issues
Responding to the questions raised by participants, Gabrielle Tolotti detailed the organizational and political guidelines of the International Antifascist Conference, emphasizing the collective and evolving nature of the process. She explained that the establishment of an international list of organizations participating in the process is underway and clarified that participation in meetings does not automatically imply formal endorsement, which is why it is essential to complete the form made available in order to establish direct contact with organizations.
Gabrielle also addressed concerns regarding the coincidence of dates with other international events, stating that these are complementary struggles within the same antifascist field, but that the conference dates are fixed due to the involvement of numerous organizations. Regarding local mobilizations, she indicated that committees and pre-conference activities are being promoted in different countries and cities in order to broaden the political impact of the meeting.
On the logistical level, she explained that the antifas2026 website provides information on hotel accommodation and that priority for solidarity housing — coordinated with trade unions and organizations — will be given to delegations facing the greatest financial difficulties, particularly those coming from Latin America. Gabrielle also clarified that the conference will guarantee simultaneous interpretation in four languages during official panels and the Forum of Antifascist Authorities, while self-organized activities will receive support from volunteer interpreters. Finally, she reaffirmed that, despite natural tactical divergences, there are broad political agreements among the organizations involved and that the objective is to collectively build a Porto Alegre Charter based on these consensuses, expressing an international antifascist, anti-imperialist, and pluralist position.
Subsequently, Rodrigo Dilélio focused his intervention on the need to politically organize the final declaration that will close the International Antifascist Conference, directly engaging with the concerns raised by Quintino (CUT) and Nicoleta (CGIL) regarding the final manifesto. He proposed the immediate opening of a specific discussion on the procedures and moments of the conference during which this debate could be deepened, suggesting that Eric Toussaint, Juçara Dutra (on behalf of the local committee), Quintino (CUT), and Nicoleta (CGIL) initiate a process of coordination in order to move the issue forward and later present a political report.
To conclude the meeting, Roberto Robaina offered a strategic reflection on the limits and importance of the initiative.
“We have no illusion that the conference can meet a gigantic need, which is that of building a unified global process of antifascist struggle,” he stated. Nevertheless, he defended the meeting as a concrete step against fragmentation. “It is totally insufficient, but it is a step. A starting point,” he concluded, reaffirming Porto Alegre as a symbolic and political space for the renewal of international left coordination in the 21st century.
Participants in the Third Meeting of the International Committee
Name — Organization — Country
• Andressa Soares — Palestinian National BDS Committee — Brazil/Palestine
• Penelope Duggan — International Viewpoint / Fourth International — France
• Jana Silverman — Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) — United States/Brazil
• Rodrigo Campos Dilélio — Workers’ Party, Porto Alegre — Brazil
• Jorgelina Matusevicius — Vientos del Pueblo – Frente por el Poder Popular — Argentina
• Eduardo Lucita — EDI — Argentina
• Eduardo Mancuso — Workers’ Party — Brazil
• Daniel Dalmao — Communist Party of Uruguay (PCU) — Uruguay
• Antonio Antunes da Cunha Neto — PSOL — Brazil
• Juan Tortosa — CADTM and solidaritéS Suisse — Switzerland
• Mariana Mortágua — Bloco de Esquerda — Portugal
• Senira Beledelli — José Martí Cultural Association/RS; Brazilian Movement of Solidarity with Cuba (MBSC); Causas Justas — Brazil
• Daniele Azambuja de Borba Cunha — National Union of Higher Education Teachers (ANDES-SN) — Brazil
• Márcia Campos — Deputy National Secretary for Women of the PCdoB Brazil, member of the National Political Commission and Central Committee of the PCdoB, President of the International Democratic Federation of Women (WIDF) from 2002 to 2018 — Brazil
• Albert Sansano — Intersindical Valenciana — Spanish State
• Federico Enciso — CTA-Autónoma — Argentina
• Antoine Larrache — Urgence Palestine — France
• Ana Prestes — PCdoB — Brazil
• William Gaviria Ocampo — National Federation of Banking Unions of Colombia (FENASIBANCOL) — Colombia
• Mariana Riscali — Lauro Campos and Marielle Franco Foundation — Brazil
• Gabriella Lima — CADTM, Ensemble à Gauche — Switzerland
• Darío González P. — Researcher, INDEPAZ — Colombia
• Pablo Sanseverino — National Party Instrument for Popular Unity — Argentina
• Filipe — PCdoB — Brazil
• Claudio Anselmo de Souza Mendonça — ANDES-SN — Brazil
• Marcos de Oliveira Soares — ANDES-SN — Brazil
• Bruno Magalhães — PSOL — Brazil
• Pastora Filigrana — Context and Action Foundation — Spain
• Fernanda Gadea Martínez — ATTAC Spain — Spain
• Tomás Battaglino — Libres del Sur Movement — Argentina
• Felisa Miceli — Corriente Nacional y Popular 25 de Mayo (CNP 25), former Minister of Economy — Argentina
• José Humberto Montes de Oca Luna — Mexican Electricians’ Union (SME) — Mexico
• Caroline de Araújo Lima — ANDES-SN — Brazil
• Xabier Zabala — ELA Sindikatua — Basque Country
• Maribel Morales Robles — Cuba Solidarity Committee in Puerto Rico — Puerto Rico
• Jhon Eduard Castaño — CADTM — Colombia
• Vanessa Gil — Chilean Local Committee / PSOL — Chile
• Sergio García — MST — Argentina
• Verónica Carrillo — CADTM and PSDPM — Mexico
• Aziki Omar — ATTAC CADTM Morocco — Morocco
• Rafael Bernabe — Democracia Socialista — Puerto Rico
• Ángel Vera — Party for the Victory of the People — Uruguay
• Eric Toussaint — CADTM International — Belgium
• Ismael Idílio — Convergence for Socialist Popular Action Party – Frente Guasu — Paraguay
• José Crespo — CADTM Mexico — Mexico
• Andrés Herrera Sangabriel — CADTM Mexico / INDASS A.C. — United Mexican States
• Roberto Robaina — PSOL — Brazil
• Carles Riera — CUP — Spanish State
• Sushovan Dhar — CADTM India — India
• Luana Alves — PSOL — Brazil
• Gabrielle Tolotti — PSOL — Brazil
• Sérgio Bellavita — USB Union Lecce (Unione Sindacale di Base) — Italy
• Juçara Dutra — PT/RS — Brazil
• Quintino Severo — CUT — Brazil
• Maria Elena Saludas — ATTAC Argentina, CADTM Ayna — Argentina