Sustaining the alliance in times of fragmentation

We closed 2025 in a global context marked by democratic backsliding, the normalization of hate, and growing pressure on feminist and human rights movements. In many regions, civic space is shrinking, authoritarian agendas are advancing, and the precarization of life is deepening. And yet, here we are: connected, organized, and in motion. This reflection brings together the political and affective learnings of an intense year, in which On The Right Track continued to weave transfeminist and interregional ties while navigating increasingly challenging scenarios.

The year's balance

2025 has been a year of many achievements, and also of learning about our own limits and possibilities.

We met in person in Bogotá and Warsaw, strengthening alliances between Latin America and Europe. These gatherings were spaces for deep political analysis, but also for collective care and mutual listening. They reminded us that alliance-building does not happen only through strategic documents, but also through bodies, informal conversations, and shared moments.

The working groups sustained complex debates and articulations, connecting struggles, territories, and diverse perspectives. Cross-group exchanges helped deepen analyses and avoid silos, reinforcing the interregional and transfeminist dimension of the alliance. More than 400 contributions to organizations in 30 countries attest to the scale and depth of this collective work.

We launched the photography contest “Narrating Resistances”, an invitation to tell our struggles through images, collective care and networking, and hope. The winning photographs—from Italy, the United Kingdom/Hungary, and Mexico—remind us that communication is also a political and sensitive tool, capable of capturing strength, joy, and rebellion in all their complexity.

We experimented with formats, rhythms, and tools. Not everything turned out as expected, and that too is part of the learning. We tested new forms of internal communication, explored digital platforms, and adjusted processes along the way. We learned as much from what worked as from what needs revisiting.

The coordination team met in Barcelona to cook up future strategies, in a space for reflection, care, and collective projection. That gathering allowed us to name fatigue, celebrate advances, and sharpen our view of what lies ahead.

Learnings to keep and care for

One of the clearest consensuses this year is that not everything can be sustained through accumulation. In a context of multiple crises and constant demands, the temptation to do more, to be everywhere, to respond to every urgency can lead to collective exhaustion.

We have learned that caring for processes also means:

Simplifying objectives and prioritizing what is essential. This is not about doing less for the sake of it, but about focusing on what truly strengthens the alliance and sustains our shared political horizon. Sometimes saying “no”, or “not yet”, is also a form of strategic care.

Maintaining flexibility in changing contexts. Plans are made to be adjusted, not followed to the letter. In a year marked by rapid political shifts in several regions, adaptability has been key to avoiding paralysis or wear caused by rigidity.

Naming fatigue without guilt. Exhaustion is real, and naming it is not weakness. On the contrary, recognizing it allows us to make conscious decisions about how to distribute energy, when to rest, and how to care for one another without romanticizing sacrifice.

Avoiding burnout as a political and ethical stance, without losing focus on the work. We do not want to build an alliance sustained by the exhaustion of those who are part of it. We seek sustainable rhythms and ways of working that care for life and do not reproduce the extractivist logics we criticize.

Beyond traditional communications

For us, communication is not about constant visibility or always looking outward. It is not about producing content nonstop or competing for attention on social media. It is about sustaining meaning, relationships, learning, and a shared horizon.

At On The Right Track, communication is a tool to:

Weave collective memory. Document processes, gather learnings, and build a political archive that allows us to look back with perspective.

Strengthen ties between regions. Keep conversations open, share analyses, and create spaces for encounter, even when geographic distance is great.

Nurture strategic reflection. Communicate inward as well, creating spaces where ideas circulate, are debated, and transformed collectively.

This approach has allowed us to communicate with political intentionality, without submitting to algorithmic urgencies or expectations of constant productivity.

The conexts we face

The year 2025 was marked by political developments that directly impact the alliance’s work, and this year begins in much the same way:

In Europe, democratic backsliding in Georgia, the continuation of the war in Ukraine, and the normalization of militaristic discourse in forums such as Davos reveal an increasingly polarized region, where spaces for dissent are narrowing and authoritarian agendas are gaining ground.

In Latin America, the victory of José Antonio Kast in Chile and the deepening political crisis in Venezuela under pressure from Trump reflect regional power realignments that put recent gains by social and feminist movements at risk.

These contexts are not merely the backdrop to our work. They run through us, challenge us, and force us to constantly rethink strategies. The alliance exists precisely to anticipate, analyze, and confront these scenarios, not through reaction, but through collective preparation and deep analysis.

What's to come: 2026 and the seventh year of the alliance

In April 2026, On The Right Track enters its seventh year. Sustaining an interregional alliance over time, in this global context, is already a form of resistance.

The beginning of the year has not been easy. The world is reeling, yet it does not stop. That is why we are working with depth and care on the preparation of the Second Interregional Gathering, which will take place this year and will be a key moment to:

• Meet again across regions, face to face

• Collectively analyze the global and regional political context

• Celebrate what has been built and acknowledge the path traveled

• Jointly project the next cycle of the alliance

The working groups will continue to be the heart of this process: living spaces where political analysis, feminist imagination, and collective construction intersect. They are not merely operational structures, but places where strategic thinking is cooked and political and affective bonds are sustained.

We know that these gatherings are not improvised. They are cultivated. That is why we are putting all the necessary care and intentionality into ensuring that the meeting is a space of depth, not merely of agenda fulfillment.

Collective strength and a path to keep walking

We continue walking together, with more experience, stronger bonds, and greater clarity about how we want to be:

Without haste, because we know that deep processes take time and not everything can be resolved in the short term.

Without unnecessary exhaustion, because caring for ourselves is also a political commitment.

With the serene strength of the collective, because we know we do not arrive alone and that power lies in the alliance.

In times of polarization, when the world constantly invites us toward individualism and competition, we believe in the importance of transcending our identities to look toward the collective interest. This is not about dissolving differences, but about sustaining a shared horizon without losing the specificity of each struggle.

Grattitude and projection

Thank you to all the organizations, funds, activists, and allies who sustain this network with their work, commitment, and trust. Thank you for continuing to believe in this shared path, even when the context becomes difficult.

This reflection does not close a cycle. It opens questions, projects challenges, and reaffirms commitments. We are still here, organized and in motion.