Strategies for Alliance-Building and Strengthening Political Power
[Versión en español aquí]
What can European movements learn from the transformative strategies and enduring alliances forged in Latin American movements? This new video resource explores the experience of Uruguay’s Frente Amplio — a broad-based progressive coalition with over 50 years of history and experience — offering concrete lessons on how social movements and political institutions can co-create long-term strategies for radical change.
Since its founding in 1971, the Frente Amplio has managed to unite a wide spectrum of political and social forces, from trade unions and neighbourhood assemblies to feminist groups and left parties. Not only has this coalition endured, but it has achieved institutional power — forming national government multiple times — while navigating internal tensions, evolving social dynamics, and mounting global crises.
This case study offers a selection of interviews with both founding members and a new generation of activists engaged in rethinking and reshaping the coalition for today’s challenges. The core of the resource is a six-part video series aiming to provoke reflection, discussion, and offer a basis for inspiration and improved strategic thinking among European activists and organisers.
A short introductory conversation with the series creators, Carol Marin and Maria Llanos:
Why Now?
Across Europe and beyond, we face a deepening polycrisis. Ecological, economic and political breakdowns converge, while far-right narratives take hold, polarising societies and occupying institutional ground. In many contexts, progressive movements are fragmented, struggling to offer compelling, collective alternatives.
How do we build strategic coherence without erasing diversity?
What kinds of alliances can hold — not just tactically, but over decades?
How do we overcome ideological fragmentation and sustain effective movement building?
This project doesn’t offer easy answers, but an opportunity to learn from a political process that has weathered dictatorship, electoral politics, internal conflict, and shifting terrain — and still endures.
What’s in the Series?
Drawing from the rich history of the Frente Amplio, this resource opens up themes highly relevant to the European context today:
– Historical roots of the coalition: what gave rise to it, how it evolved, and what parallels and contrasts exist with current conditions in Europe
– The role of civic participation and grassroots education in sustaining long-term collective projects
– Feminist perspectives and leadership within broad alliances: inclusion, power, and relational politics
– Movement-party relationships: navigating the tensions and synergies between the streets and institutions
– Lessons on internal democracy, pluralism, and shared strategy across ideological divides.
Who’s it for?
This series is created for activists, organisers, and collectives across Europe — those seeking to build stronger coalitions, deepen democratic practices, and strategise for large-scale social transformation. It builds on Ulex’s broader work around movement learning, and is informed by insights from our Ecology of Social Movements training and the Movement Learning Catalyst initiative.
This series is an invitation to step into active political learning — grounded, critical, and urgently needed.
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Episode One: Keys to Understanding the Frente Amplio: A Historical Overview
Ricardo Ehrlich — Uruguayan scientist, politician, and long-time activist — shares insights into the Frente Amplio’s history, internal structure, and key lessons from its different phases of development. Drawing from his unique trajectory that spans both revolutionary activism and institutional politics, Ricardo reflects on the tensions and synergies between these spheres. He speaks to how the Frente Amplio has adapted to evolving challenges, and emphasises the enduring role of militancy as a deeply held political commitment. His perspective offers a valuable window into the coalition’s historical journey and ongoing transformation.
(Resources: Influence of Spanish Republicans in exile, http://bit.ly/452bYRQ, https://bit.ly/44zowQF; Operation Condor, https://bit.ly/4moR59Z).
Episode Two: Feminist Leadership and Politics in the Frente Amplio
Margarita Percovich — founding member of the Frente Amplio, long-time activist, feminist, and political leader — reflects on her decades of experience at the intersection of politics, feminism, and social struggle. She traces the origins and consolidation of the Frente Amplio, highlighting both the breakthroughs and the persistent challenges in building sustainable alliances in an increasingly fragmented landscape. Margarita underscores the central role of citizen participation, detailing the mechanisms of representation and inclusion developed within the coalition. Her reflections shed light on the emergence of women’s leadership in the Frente Amplio and the advancement of feminist policies over time. Rooted in a vision of solidarity and shared political imagination, she speaks to the importance of care as a principle of governance, the practice of feminist leadership, and the need for strong, coordinated grassroots structures. Her experience offers valuable lessons for movements in Europe seeking to build inclusive, resilient, and future-oriented political projects.
(Resources: Popular education, https://shorturl.at/VLfqA, https://www.nodo50.org/pretextos/educ…. , https://rebelion.org/la-educacion-pop…, https://www.teachingtimes.com/paulo-f…; Liberation theology https://bit.ly/4madeZ8).
Episode Three: Citizen Participation Part 1 – Grassroots Commitees
This two-part interview with Romina Redesca and Eduardo Alonso begins by exploring the Frente Amplio from the perspective of grassroots activism. They introduce us to the coalition’s complex and organic structure — made up of over 500 grassroots committees across Uruguay, coordinated both transversally and transnationally. Romina and Eduardo discuss the relationship between the base and the political institutions, highlighting the values that underpin those connections and the decision-making processes that ensure grassroots voices retain real influence. They describe a culture of democratic participation that enables social movements and local committees to shape the direction of the coalition. Both are deeply involved in the Frente Amplio’s grassroots organising: Romina is a delegate to the National Plenary and a member of the National Political Table, while Eduardo serves as Executive Secretary for the base committees. Together, they offer grounded insight into how participatory infrastructure sustains long-term political organising.
(Resources: Critical and self-critical stocktaking, https://www.frenteamplio.uy/wp-conten…; Academic study, “How Party activism survives” https://shorturl.at/5Uknr).
Episode Four: Citizen Participation Part 2 – The Frente Amplio A Coalition and A Movement
In the second part of our interview with Romina Redesca and Eduardo Alonso, we continue to explore the Frente Amplio’s structure from the perspective of grassroots activism. This conversation focuses on the sources of tension — past and present — between the party and the movements, as well as the processes of rebuilding trust and sustaining meaningful collaboration over time. Romina and Eduardo reflect on the challenges of maintaining alignment between institutional politics and grassroots priorities, sharing lessons learned from moments of disconnect and renewal. Their testimonies also offer valuable intergenerational and gendered perspectives, shaped by a long-standing commitment to militant organising within the Frente Amplio.
(Resources: Critical and self-critical stocktaking, https://www.frenteamplio.uy/wp-conten…; Academic study, “How Party activism survives” https://shorturl.at/5Uknr).
Episode Five: The Redes Frente Amplistas – A Critical Response to the Challenges of FA
In this episode, we speak with Andrea Apolaro, the founder of Redes Frente Amplistas — an innovative initiative that emerged in 2002 as an independent response to some of the challenges facing the Frente Amplio. The redes (networks) aim to revitalise political participation by experimenting with new forms of engagement. They stand out for their creative and accessible approach, using tools like cyberactivism, artivism, and playful strategies to foster citizen participation and connect with new generations. Andrea shares both the achievements and the ongoing challenges of this process, as well as insights into how to sustain political imagination and collective dreaming in a context marked by fragmentation and disillusionment. Andrea brings a lifetime of experience as a militant — a journey that began at age 13 under the military dictatorship. She has been both witness and active participant in the evolution of Uruguay’s left, with a strong focus on citizen participation and grassroots innovation, including her work with Montevideo’s Citizen Innovation Laboratory.
(Resources: Movement “Yo soy 132”, Mexico, https://www.researchgate.net/publicat…, https://shorturl.at/YruSy).
Episode Six: International Relations in the Frente Amplio – Building Solidarity and Global Alliances
In this interview, we explore how the Frente Amplio approaches its international relations strategy. Pablo Álvarez, president of the coalition’s International Affairs and Relations Commission, shares his perspective on how the FA has cultivated a network of solidarity and collaboration with social movements and progressive parties across Latin America — and beyond.
Pablo reflects on the challenges and lessons of regional integration, the strategic importance of unity within diversity, and the ongoing task of shaping new utopias and ambitious social transformations — in Uruguay and in the wider global context.
He also discusses the FA’s internationalist stance and its efforts to maintain meaningful relationships with other regional actors, positioning itself as a bridge-builder within the broader progressive ecosystem.
(Resources: Sao Paolo Forum, https://fpabramo.org.br/cooperacao-in…, https://diariodecuba.com/internaciona…; World Social Forum, https://www.clacso.org/actividad/foro…; Zapatista movement, https://www.equaltimes.org/the-zapati…).
Learning Together
This video series is supported by a range of additional resources, available below. We’re also planning webinars and a community of inquiry to dive deeper into the themes explored in the series. We’re launching a dedicated discussion forum within the Ulex online learning community — a space for reflection, exchange, and collaborative exploration.
To join the conversation, write to us at carol@ulexproject.org.
