Myriam Bregman: 'Civilization or Barbarism?' — The Left Stands Up to Imperialism at the World Cup

In the midst of World Cup fever, Myriam Bregman stirred the hornet’s nest once again. The leader of the Left Front published an analysis on her X account that spared no one: she questioned the hypocrisy of European progressivism, targeted Javier Milei for his stance on the Malvinas, and issued a warning about the imperialist siege in Latin America.

“The ball doesn’t get dirty and everyone can cheer for whoever they want,” Bregman began, but quickly made it clear that football does not escape geopolitics. “In such a polarized global situation, marked by wars, genocides, mass uprisings, it was unthinkable that all of this wouldn’t end up seeping into this World Cup.”

The leader reviewed the episodes that marked the tournament: the mistreatment of the Iranian national team, the exclusion of Russia, discrimination against the Somali referee, Trump’s interference, the Egyptian coach waving the Palestinian flag, and the booing of the US president himself. But the focus of her criticism targeted a specific target: “It was shocking to see the position of progressive sectors from different parts of the world, even the left, looking for arguments not to cheer or support Argentina.”

Bregman referred to the moment when the flag reading “Las Malvinas son argentinas” fell onto the pitch and was picked up by the players. “Argentina erupted. And for good reason: we have a colonial occupation in the Malvinas and a president who admires Thatcher. How could we not shout it like another goal? How could we not take to the streets and sing against the usurping power?” she asked.

The leader also targeted the British newspaper The Telegraph, which headlined “Spain wins the World Cup in a triumph of football over Argentine delinquency.” “A newspaper that supported English colonialism. For them, in life turned into chess, the pawn never takes the king,” she fired.

But the harshest target was European progressivism. “Not only would Milei appear calling those who demand sovereignty ‘mononeuronal thermoses,’ but also ‘friendly fire’ would emerge. Some said that the claim for the Malvinas ‘was from the dictatorship,’ others tried to claim that the only thing dividing the world is support for Palestine and that the Spanish team would be pro-Palestine and the Argentine one, Zionist.”

Bregman cited journalist Santiago Lupe, who pointed out the hypocrisy of the Spanish state: “It is not the friendly state of the Palestinian people that it pretends to sell. The Spanish state is fully complicit in the genocide against the Palestinian people.” And she added: “None of those progressive thinkers were heard saying a word about the celebrations of the corrupt king of Spain or about the normalization of the colonialist monarchy.”

The FIT leader warned that all of Latin America is under imperialist siege and that Argentina is a particular case because “that imperialist advance is carried out with the consent and promotion of its President and with the complicity of most governors and sectors of the traditional opposition.”

“Trump wants to turn our country into a colonial enclave. The big companies of the entire world are licking their chops. And an increasing percentage of the working people resist that fate,” she stated.

Bregman closed with a call for coherence: “It is a great time to revisit the classic categories of imperialism, dependent countries, and many others. Above all, it is time not to be cynical. Cheer for whoever you want, this is football, but if you want to be part of imperialist governments, don’t look for excuses.”