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The left is developing new populist strategies to seize power around the world. To discuss some of them, our co-editor-in-chief, Vanessa Vallejo, sat down for an exclusive conversation with economics doctor and professor Daniel Lacalle.
When analyzing the strategies of the left, Lacalle remarks, it is necessary to remember its goal. “The goal of the left is not progress, but to control,” he pointed out.
To take control, the left appropriates causes that, generally, are of common interest, such as the protection of the environment or the fight against poverty. By claiming these causes, Lacalle explained, they use them as an excuse to introduce greater state intervention in the economy and liberties. The economist gave the example of the so-called Agenda 2030 or the Green New Deal.
“They not only have to do with the technology with which electricity is generated, but with citizens not consuming, or consuming what, how and when they are told,” he said. “It is an absolutely evident technique of totalitarian control.”
When referring to the energy crisis in Europe —which arose from the invasion of Ukraine— given by the dependence of European countries on Russian energy, Lacalle warns that this is no coincidence.
“This so-called dependence on Russian gas in Europe did not happen by chance or by mistake, it happened by political design,” the specialist explained. “The increasing dependence on Russian gas was generated precisely by an environmentalist agenda: to eliminate nuclear power and, in exchange, to have an abundant, cheap and constantly flowing energy such as Russian gas.”
That dependence, Lacalle explained, is not solved by massively restricting freedoms or with greater state interventionism but by generating more and better competition and diversifying energy production.
“It is a consistent agenda of using a problem to further repress individual freedoms […] that have no real effect on Russia, its trade balance or on demand,” Lacalle clarified.
But the environmentalist agenda is not limited to European progressives. In the U.S., although state independence prevents the left’s agenda from being applied at the federal level, Democratic states such as California are issuing measures such as a ban on the sale of fossil fuel cars, while they are unable to maintain their own electricity grid.
Meanwhile, in the midst of a global crisis that inevitably affects gasoline prices, President Biden is engaged in further limiting indigenous fossil energy production. This is, according to Lacalle, part of the strategy.
“It’s the perfect way to massively increase control over the population without presenting himself as an authoritarian tyrant,” the economist explained. “You are constantly introducing people to the idea that there is a huge energy crisis that, therefore, when you introduce measures to repress individual liberties, it is not because you are being authoritarian but because there is an emergency.”
Biden, Lacalle points out, is no fool: he knows that high gas prices allow the advancement of his environmentalist agenda and, in turn, the introduction of new taxes.
Watch the full interview through our YouTube channel, and follow us on El American’s social media to stay informed.
Tomás Lugo, journalist and writer. Born in Venezuela and graduated in Social Communication. Has written for international media outlets. Currently living in Colombia // Tomás Lugo, periodista y articulista. Nacido en Venezuela y graduado en Comunicación Social. Ha escrito para medios internacionales. Actualmente reside en Colombia.