Portugal is in the eye of its own storm, a storm that mirrors Greece’s tragedy in 2015

DiEM25 was born out of the ashes of Europe’s disastrous handling of the euro crisis. From that moment, we knew: if capital flows without borders, then our fight for democracy and social justice must cross borders too. We are not just another political party or NGO. We are a pan-European, transnational movement. Our mission is simple: to reclaim power from the elites who have hijacked democracy. That’s why we founded the Progressive International to unite forces globally and recently supported the South African delegation at the International Court of Justice in its case against Israel. We fight on every front because these crises are not confined to any one country.

Here in Portugal, where I write these words, the familiar refrain of “political change is impossible” echoes as often as the crises we endure: a housing market out of control, wages that barely cover the basics, precarious jobs, and a growing sense that the future is being stolen from us. We hear it over and over: “change can’t happen.” But we know better. When people rise up together with the conviction to act, the so-called impossible becomes inevitable.

In that same spirit, I urge you to watch ‘In the Eye of the Storm: The Political Odyssey of Yanis Varoufakis’, a six-part documentary directed by the brilliant Raoul Martinez. This is not just another story about Greece. It is a battle cry. The film follows Yanis’ brave confrontation with the European establishment – not just to save Greece from the iron grip of austerity, but to expose the faceless elites who manipulate our lives without any democratic mandate.

And if you think this is only about Greece, think again. Just look at Portugal today: housing is a luxury reserved only for the rich, low wages are pushing families to the brink, and our healthcare system is starved of the resources it needs to function. Corruption has become routine. The politicians who claim to represent us are more interested in protecting their perks than serving the people.

Portugal is in the eye of its own storm, a storm that mirrors Greece’s tragedy in 2015. What this documentary reveals is how all of these struggles – here in Portugal, across Europe, and beyond – are interconnected. It shows how the European Union’s foundation is rotting, how austerity has gutted entire nations, and how figures like Donald Trump and other far-right demagogues are symptoms of a deeper illness. And let’s not forget the looming climate catastrophe – an existential threat that could dwarf all of these crises if we don’t act.

What ‘In the Eye of the Storm’ makes clear, and what we at DiEM25 have been shouting for years, is that the so-called establishment and the far-right are two sides of the same coin. The so-called ‘moderates’ and the far-right both serve the same master: the neoliberal status quo. The establishment offers empty promises of gradual change, while the far-right peddles hate and blames the most vulnerable in society for problems they didn’t cause. But both protect the same system, the same elite – a system that enriches the 1 percent while telling the rest of us to accept less.

It’s the same old story: socialism for the rich, austerity for the rest. The richest 1 percent have perfected their own version of ‘communism’, keeping wealth and resources for themselves while the rest of us scramble to survive. In 2015, the EU oligarchy didn’t hesitate to blame countries like Portugal, Italy, Ireland, Greece, and Spain – the so-called ‘PIIGS’ – for the euro crisis. But we know the real culprits: the bankers and politicians who bailed out financial institutions instead of ensuring that ordinary people had homes, decent wages, and dignified lives.

The storm has not passed. The same forces that Yanis Varoufakis fought in 2015 are still at work today. But now they hide behind familiar acronyms like the IMF, ECB, and EU, and are defended by the so-called ‘extreme centre’, the political elite who constantly tell us there is no alternative. This is a lie. There is an alternative. And ‘In the Eye of the Storm’ makes it clear that we don’t have to accept this broken system. These crises are neither natural nor inevitable. They are man-made, and they can be undone.

The real power lies with us, the people. When we recognise that the dominant narrative – whether from the establishment or the far-right – is designed to protect a system that doesn’t serve us, we can begin to fight back. We do not have to live in a world where housing is a luxury, where low wages keep us trapped in poverty, and where our futures are controlled by elites who couldn’t care less about us.

This documentary isn’t just a look back at the past, it’s a call to arms. Portugal is at a crossroads. We can either continue down the path of austerity, exploitation, and environmental destruction, or we can choose a new path – one where people, not profits, come first. A path of solidarity, democracy, and justice. But to change Portugal, to truly liberate our people from the shackles of debt and despair, we must bring down the EU oligarchy. And that means acting across borders, building political power, and driving private economic interests out of the political realm, where democracy should reign.

So, I urge you – don’t just watch this documentary and feel inspired. Take that inspiration and turn it into action. Join us. Join DiEM25. Together, we can bring down the system that oppresses us and build something new.

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