“We’re at war!” That is what the French president said in his first speech on the coronavirus. He used that shocking phrase seven times. And it is to be assumed that, behind that phrase purposely underlined, President Macron thought of a much more serious problem than the concern for health: seeing the devastating effect that the coronavirus will have on society and, above all, on the economy, how to ensure the future of the current capitalist model of society? And when he mentioned the war, he clearly pointed out that he was thinking of facing the strategy of war, on the social, political, economic and even communicative level.

In addition to Presidents Macron and Sánchez, many other world leaders have realized until now that the model of the hegemonic society among us has a very black future, as its true nature, limits and injustices have exposed emergencies. The main political leaders of the planet have justified in the name of “science” all the choices made, as if science and ideology had nothing to do with it, thus justifying its true political choice.

Consequently, the debate on the new model has already begun on social networks and the media. What model of society do we need? What kind of economy? What kind of care? It is unclear whether the coronavirus crisis will be a complete failure of the current model of capitalism, but it is clear that in the future everything will be different. So the right has started to rethink capitalism and so does the left, so as not to lose out on this unique opportunity that has to become a real initiative, as happened in 2008.

But the current model of capitalist society will not fall by itself, unless we throw it out. Therefore, all the work of the plural anti-capitalist left should focus on that objective. We have to rethink the whole strategy of the Left among all and agree how we are going to structure and dynamise the Left on the street, because the engine of the transformation process cannot be placed in the current institutions. We have to be in the institutions to reinforce the dynamics that we are going to have outside the institutions. We all have to work to change all hegemony across the board.

In fact, capitalism has shown that it is capable of recomposing itself in the different crises it has experienced over the past two centuries. It has been able to transform itself by adapting to the new situation, but by maintaining the objectives of the past. He has reviewed the economic models. Things have changed a great deal so as not to change the substance. And on this occasion, he will also try to do so, taking advantage of the new Shock Doctrine exhibited by Naomi Klein.

And in the Basque trench how will we deal with this? What is the relationship of forces in Euskal Herria? What is the shock and confrontation of both models? What is the ideological struggle on? What's the media struggle on? Where is the mass struggle? Where is the alternative model of capitalism? Do we have a structured anticapitalist space to confront all these challenges in a consensual and strategic way? I believe that from today and before we overcome the current crisis we should begin to do so.

Rather than meeting with those who oppress programmes such as Zoom or Meet, should we not use them to create a political space and a strategy that would bring together the social, trade union and political spheres of the left? Has the time not come to give a global framework to Community work through the solidarity networks that we are carrying out by neighbourhoods?

We have to bring together all the anti-capitalist sectors of Euskal Herria and analyze what the viable and cumulative steps can be in that alternative model that we have to develop, with socialism as a north. Should we start by demanding the abolition of private property or the market? I don't think so. But there are also other demands, such as access to sovereignty, the strengthening of the public character of the strategic sectors, the defense of employment, the creation of a public bank, the promotion of the nationalization of some economic sectors, the democratization of the media, the creation of a new subject of labor movement, the centrality of the popular initiative, the implementation of another fiscal policy aimed at the redistribution of wealth, the social and feminist normalization of the economy,

It is time to take concrete steps to begin defining the space and strategy that the anti-capitalist will join us, taking as a starting point community life and the defence of public services. What we have to overcome is the political coronavirus.

*Joseba Alvarez is a member of Sortu