Sleeping with the enemy, it's time to wake up

By: Hugo Marcelo Balderrama - 14/09/2026

Guest columnist.
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In the early 1980s, and even as far back as the late 1970s, world politics witnessed the rise of three figures: John Paul II, Margaret Thatcher, and Ronald Reagan. This trio of giants, each in their own sphere, was influential in the fall of communism, the collapse of the Berlin Wall, and the disintegration of the Soviet Union. However, believe it or not, coming to power was anything but easy for any of them; in fact, it defied all odds.

The Polish Karol Wojtyla, Poland's second most important cardinal, was seen as too uncompromising in his anti-communism to be considered a papal candidate in a church seeking to normalize relations with the nations of Eastern Europe. Furthermore, for four centuries the popes had been of Italian origin. Ronald Reagan was considered too old-fashioned and conservative to win an election. Thatcher, for British conservatives, was a figure of little relevance to hold high office, but, by a stroke of luck, she became one.

What did the Pope, the Prime Minister, and the President have in common?

An unwavering faith in the pillars that sustain our civilization: a) Christianity as spiritual nourishment and support for our lives; b) capitalism as the best and only system that allows us to create wealth and achieve prosperity; and c) individual freedom as the foundation of human dignity.

The fall of the Berlin Wall in November 1989 and the disintegration of the Soviet Union in 1991 brought an end to seven decades of communist totalitarianism. Naturally, in the West we popped the champagne; however, reality, decades later, showed us that we had been overly optimistic and naive.

It turns out that the totalitarian threat already had a strategy to survive the Soviet collapse.

First, since the Second Vatican Council (1962–1965), Liberation Theology had infiltrated the very heart of Catholicism. In Latin America, Liberation Theology was promoted by a number of theologians and priests, including Gustavo Gutiérrez, Leonardo Boff, and Luis Espinal. Under the guise of "loving the poor," these revolutionary activists sought to strip Catholicism of all its theological richness and replace it with communist militancy. Their greatest success was in Brazil, where their study groups and training programs formed the basis of the Workers' Party (PT), the platform that brought Lula da Silva to power—a fact that Leonardo Boff himself acknowledged.

Second, they had already found new revolutionary fetishes. For example, in the 1980s, the left in democratic Europe replaced the worker with the migrant as the revolutionary subject. Simply put, they would no longer campaign exclusively for the workers' cause; now they would also campaign for the "Welcome Refugees" movement.

What initially seemed like a humanitarian cause, over the decades, ended up undermining coexistence and peace in several countries. On December 31, 2015, in the German city of Cologne, a coordinated group of approximately 1,000 men sexually assaulted and robbed numerous women. A few days later, the city prosecutor's office released the results of the investigation: 471 sexual crimes and 621 violent assaults. Of the 78 arrested: 30 were from Morocco, 27 from Algeria, 4 from Iraq, 3 from Syria, and the rest were German citizens of African descent.

Mayor Henriette Reker asked the press not to report on the ethnic origin of the rapists, because, according to her, it would fuel the "hate speech" of anti-immigration groups linked to the "far right".

On August 15, 2026, the Spanish city of Ceuta was invaded by hordes of Moroccans. Police officers reported that, as of September 5, 15 rapes committed by the invaders had already been confirmed, several of them against minors. The response of Pedro Sánchez, the Spanish president, was not in defense of his citizens and his country, but rather in support of these barbarian groups. During an interview on TVE, Sánchez said: "I think it is also important to be aware that we need larger reception infrastructure for the migrants who arrive."

Note that Sánchez and Reker's approach isn't about helping migrants, but about legitimizing criminals. They are both following Willi Muzenberg's recipe: "to corrupt Western culture until it is destroyed." This is also evident in the latest PISA tests, whose results showed that the current generation has the worst performance in reading and mathematics.

Is there a way out?

John O'Sullivan, in a book dedicated to the three great figures with whom I began this article, explains that our greatest strength is precisely the ability to face fear with hope. We are not perfect, but we are better than our enemies.

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