The return of Bernie Sanders shakes American politics

Bernie, the man who managed to move the Democratic party left, is back. With his populist rhetoric and his strong Brooklyn accent; with his appearance of grandfather "canchero" and his arrival among the most skeptical young people, the senator Bernie Sanders, declared Vermont Independent and former Democratic candidate in 2016, he undertook a second appointment to the White House. This time, he will not face Hillary Clinton, the woman who won the nomination three years ago. There will be 19 other candidates for the Democratic primaries and many of them will be close to their ideas.

At age 77, he is the figure who represents the positions of millennials that take more than half a century. He is considered the only progressive with the opportunity to reach the White House. He declares himself "socialist democratAccording to a Gallup poll, 51% of Americans aged 18 to 29 have a positive view of socialism.In the primaries, the 2016 youth segment had already given Sanders more votes than Hillary, Clinton and Trump added, these are the guys who are mbadively turning to a response to the lack of social mobility – the very essence of the American dream that has been worsening for 40 years – and the tremendous economic concentration. In the last four decades, among Americans, they have increased by 242%, nearly ten times more than average American income, and Sanders has relied on these figures to reach those who face an uncertain future and are convinced that the solution to their problems The problems will not stop the migration or start commercial wars. They are as angry as the "Trumpistas" but they are progressive, ecological, technological and humanistic..

"During our 2016 campaign, when we introduced our progressive program, we were told that our ideas were radical and extreme."Sanders wrote in an email that he sent this week to his supporters." Three years have pbaded and we find that it is a true right-wing extremism. As a result, there are now millions of Americans who say enough and counterattack all these policies. Our ideas now have the support of the majority of Americans. "

His populist agenda has been adopted by several of the Democratic candidates for membership against which he will have to participate in these primaries. In particular, they are the senator Warrenwho for many years has shared many of the same positions in economics and Kamala Harris who can carry a lot of votes that he has received Barack Obama. At the same time, he must share with all his opponents the flags with which he successfully faced the "Clinton Dynasty", such as those of militant feminism and cultural and racial diversity. It will also be subject to a much more in-depth review than it did three years ago, when much of the media and politicians treated him more as a colorful character than as a real challenger for nomination to the Presidency. And while emerging young political stars such as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ayanna Pressley snatched some of their leadership from the party's progressive wing, Sanders is still the only Democrat to have succeeded in awakening a generation of young people who vote and work voluntarily to revive the progressive agenda. It is also credited with the transparency and reform of the presidential nomination process, which includes reducing the influence of "superdelegates" (outstanding party personalities who are not popularly elected but have a great deal of power). in the nomination). presidential) and the ban on leaving candidates out of debate, factors that greatly aided Hillary Clinton in 2016.

Many Americans – even if they do not vote – to believe that Sanders is the best candidate to go out Trump from the white house. For an extremist, another extremist is needed, they say. And the president's re-election team has not lost a minute to qualify all its rivals as "sanderistas". He issued a statement in which he denounced "all Democratic candidates to have embraced their socialism". In an interview on "CBS This Morning", Sanders replied that "Trump will say: Bernie Sanders wants the United States to become Venezuela. And that's not true. I do not want the United States to live in the terrible economic situation that is unfortunately prevailing in Venezuela at the present time. "What Bernie Sanders wants is to learn from other countries that are doing better than us to fight against inequality and income accumulation. of wealth ".

He himself is not a poor man. He has three homes, the last he bought in 2016 in front of a lake in his Vermont state. The other two are the historic places where he lived and lives with his family. In 2017, he had revenues of over a million dollars through the rights of his bestseller "Our Revolution", a reflection on the events of the presidential campaign. Whatever the case may be, among those who run as presidential candidates, is one of the most modest. His latest tax statement states that he has about $ 700,000 in bank accounts.. Its main rival in the primary, Elizabeth Warren, has 7.8 million.

Sanders has a significant advantage over its competitors. He has remained in permanent campaign since he lost the primary against Hillary Clinton and has a major organization in 50 states. He is also well known to voters. In polls, he ranks second on a list of candidates chaired by former Vice President Joe Biden. And most importantly, it has the best fundraising machines. In the 24 hours following the announcement, 225,000 people paid an average of $ 27 to reach a record $ 6 million.

He also has great experience of the campaign. He was a frustrated candidate when he was appointed Vermont governor and senator in the 1970s. In 1981, he was elected Mayor of the city of Burlington, on the border with Canada. He was then state representative in the lower house of Congress for 16 years, until he was elected senator in 2006. Against all odds, ten years later, he became the "phenomenon" of primary Democrats.

When in the same program of the chain CBS Sanders was asked about what would be different in 2020 compared to three years ago. He answered without any doubt: "We will winHe said: "It is absolutely imperative that Donald Trump be defeated. "And so he does not doubt how much he does not like the tycoon, he added:" We are confronted with a pathological, fraudulent, racist lying president. badist, xenophobic and somebody who undermines American democracy while guiding us in an authoritarian direction. "

With her nasal tone and clear diction, Sanders grabs the lectern and says a litany of her stances: universal medical care, public tuition-free university, women's reproductive rights, lower drug costs, justice reform criminal law. He also appears as a champion of the working clbad and a pbadionate opponent of Wall Street and the elite who enriches himself with financial speculation. It includes diatribes against billionaires and repeats phrases such as "the three richest peoples of the United States have more wealth than the poorest 50% of this country". In particular, he criticizes the Amazon and Walmart companies for their low wages and the mistreatment of workers.

The prestigious magazine L & # 39; economist this week's cover story is about the rise of social democratic positions around the world and personalities such as Sanders. "Socialism reappears because it makes an incisive critique of what went wrong in Western societies. While right-wing politicians too often abandoned the battle of ideas and embraced chauvinism and nostalgia, the left focused on inequality, the environment, and the means of empowering citizens rather than elites. However, although the reborn left does some things well, his pessimism towards the modern world goes too far. Their policies lack ingenuity in terms of budgets, bureaucracies and businesses, "he said. L & # 39; economist in his editorial.

Sanders is now facing the most difficult campaign he faces. He will have to see how he stands in front of candidates such as Pete Buttigieg, the openly gay mayor of South Bend, Indiana, who stands out with his innovative ideas for reviving areas of the country hit by the recession of the 1990s or with Senator Elizabeth Warren. from Mbadachusetts, a prominent professor of economic law, who proposes to raise the minimum wage ($ 15 an hour) and shares the positions of environmental protection and migration. But, surely, he will be distinguished by another of his qualities. He will continue to be the "politically incorrect" figure with the power to alter the campaign rhetoric of the entire American political spectrum, including that of Donald Trump..