In the summer of 2018, I remember watching Colombian presidential candidate Gustavo Petro livestream his arrival at an election event in the northern border city of Cucuta. This was the first time a leftist candidate had a real chance of winning the presidency, and this threatened the political status quo. As he streamed the video from inside this armoured vehicle showing the crowds that had gathered to welcome him, cracks began to appear on the windows of the vehicle, and people outside began to scream; there was an active shooter. You could hear gunshots, and within a matter of seconds, they were screeching out of there. Fortunately, no one was hurt. This year, Donald Trump narrowly escaped an assassination attempt. You cannot even begin to compare Petro’s and Trump’s politics; they’re on opposite ends of the political spectrum, but they still faced similar close calls of electoral violence. It is this violence that ungirds the power of the state.
Considering the upcoming US elections, two-thirds of US citizens polled earlier this year fear there would be post-election violence. This is a legitimate concern after the violence we witnessed on January 6, 2021, to alter election results. In addition to this concern, intimidation and administrative tactics have been employed to make voting harder, particularly for those on the periphery of US society. Not being from the United States makes me wonder, to what degree of electoral violence in the US is the precursor to its imperialistic ambitions? We can’t speak of one without the other. What we have seen is that the taint of violence or the threat of violence in the US elections is often reflected in its foreign policy abroad and its increasingly xenophobic and racist domestic policies. Indian activist Arundhati Roy correctly states, “The world should be able to vote in US elections.” The results at the polls on November 5 will impact the world in the most profound ways. Democratic or majoritarian electoral systems are governed by coercion and not consensus, which always lays the foundation for a system of domination that often does not care for the welfare of all.
Historically, the US has meddled in rigging election results worldwide in favour of a class of politicians it can control and use to further its interests. These neocolonial actions have resulted in coups, military dictatorships, thousands of deaths and undermining the political and economic sovereignty of countries. This form of political, economic and military violence is resisted by people worldwide and also by CPT partners.
At CPT, we are concerned about the potential for electoral violence and have prepared a short guide to helping US citizens keep themselves and their neighbours safe. Find the guide here.
If you are in the US, I would encourage you to think about what your vote or abstention will mean for a Palestinian, a Colombian, a Kurd, a migrant or the sovereignty of Indigenous peoples. If you are not from the US, think about how we can resist neocolonialism and hegemony and preserve a political and economic vibrancy that cares for the common good.
