A-Infos (en) Spaine, Regeneration - Tell me what happened in the world while I was learning to walk - By Lus (ca, de, fr, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]

We were happy without even realizing it. We, the generation of the 90s, 
had a memorable childhood, even with its ups and downs. We would come 
home with mud-stained clothes, a ball to the face, and the occasional 
minor scrape, but always with a smile. Now that I understand how the 
world works, I look back at that bittersweet childhood. And I can't help 
but wonder: what was happening while I was on my way to school, learning 
to ride a bike, sleeping, or playing Pokémon? Seen through the eyes of 
my younger self, that decade of the 90s was just like that of any 
working-class child in the West.

And even if my parents knew what was happening in the world, why would I 
care about the breakup of Yugoslavia, the fall of the Berlin Wall, who 
Saddam Hussein was, or what on earth the anti-globalization movement 
was, when I barely knew that humans have to work to eat? In fact, Mom 
and Dad were more concerned with keeping the family afloat.

So, I am writing these lines to shed light on that slice of history that 
unfolded while I was growing up-events that are rarely discussed. It was 
a time when we were making our best childhood memories, yet pivotal 
events were simultaneously taking place that would shape the world's 
current trajectory. During that decade, neoliberalism solidified its 
position as the dominant global system, while the US established itself 
as the world's leading power following the end of the Cold War. 
Everything seemed to point toward a unipolar future. Yet, those 
wonderful 90s were not without conflicts of all kinds-conflicts that had 
a profound impact on society. I will mention a few of them here, though 
the decade holds enough material for an entire doctoral thesis. 
Following the fall of the Berlin Wall, Germany completed its 
reunification process in 1990. The following year, the Second Gulf 
War-sparked by Iraq's invasion of Kuwait-came to an end; the conflict 
concluded with a massacre during the Iraqi troop withdrawal from 
Kuwait-a war crime known as the "Highway of Death"-in which the US 
carried out an indiscriminate bombing of a largely civilian Iraqi convoy 
returning from Kuwait, leaving behind kilometers of destruction. Before 
the year was out, the dissolution of the USSR was finalized.
1992 saw the Barcelona Olympic Games, an event that transformed the city 
and laid the groundwork for the "Barcelona brand" we recognize today. 
However, the arrival of the Olympics also brought a darker side: the 
repression of the social movements of that era. That same year, the 
Seville Expo took place, an event commemorating the 500th anniversary of 
the start of the colonization of Latin America. About half of the 
pavilions built for the event were eventually demolished. This event, 
along with the Olympics, paved the way for future speculative real 
estate booms in Spain.
On January 1, 1994, the EZLN (Zapatista Army of National Liberation) 
rose up in arms against the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), 
signed by the US, Canada, and Mexico. The signing of this treaty 
represented yet another severe blow to the living conditions of the 
Maya-Chiapas peasantry, threatening to further impoverish them once 
NAFTA came into effect. Through this rebellion, the group demanded 
justice and the defense of the rights of Mexico's indigenous peoples and 
the poor.
Venezuela was undergoing a deep economic crisis, and in 1992, Commander 
Hugo Chávez led an unsuccessful coup d'état. In 1998, he won the 
election, marking the beginning of the so-called Bolivarian Revolution-a 
populist movement that, following constitutional reform, began to 
polarize Venezuelan society. Meanwhile, Colombia and El Salvador were 
grappling with ongoing internal conflicts involving guerrilla groups, 
drug trafficking, and paramilitary forces during a period of political 
instability.
In 1993, the Oslo Accords were signed between the Israeli government and 
the PLO (Palestine Liberation Organization) in a renewed attempt to 
achieve a peaceful solution for Palestine; while this granted a degree 
of autonomy to the Palestinian Authority, it stopped short of 
recognizing the establishment of a Palestinian state.
After his release from prison, Nelson Mandela was elected president of 
South Africa in 1994, initiating the country's transition from the 
apartheid regime to a democratic, multicultural nation.

The fall of Constantinople is something one can move past, but the 
disintegration of Yugoslavia is harder to overcome. In 1995, at the 
height of the Balkan Wars, a genocide perpetrated by Bosnian Serbs 
against the Bosnian Muslim population took place with the UN's tacit 
approval. Furthermore, during the Siege of Sarajevo, a "human safari" 
occurred in which wealthy individuals of Italian origin paid to shoot at 
civilians, regardless of whether they were children. To this day, Bosnia 
and Herzegovina still harbors unexploded mines, the scars of genocide, 
and children who were shot by unscrupulous, wealthy individuals.
As globalization advanced, an anti-globalization movement began to 
emerge-a grassroots movement organized in a decentralized manner across 
various countries. The first international gathering against 
neoliberalism took place in Chiapas, organized at the initiative of the 
EZLN. One of the most significant events was the "Battle of Seattle" in 
1999, where protests succeeded in derailing the World Trade Organization 
summit.
I conclude this list of events by mentioning one of the most important 
steps for a revolutionary movement in the Middle East: the paradigm 
shift of the PKK (Kurdistan Workers' Party). Originally 
Marxist-Leninist, the party began in 1999 to design-and subsequently 
implement-a new political project for Kurdish self-determination known 
as "democratic confederalism." Inspired by Zapatista communities and the 
theories of Murray Bookchin, this new policy placed direct democracy, 
the self-determination of peoples, women's liberation, and social 
ecology at its core.
As I write these lines, I cannot help but think-with a lump in my 
throat-of those moments in my own childhood when, while I was kicking a 
ball around in the park, other children were dodging bullets in 
Sarajevo. And this is just one case among many. Childhoods destroyed-or 
lives outright extinguished-in conflict zones, while a minority of 
children, born into the lap of luxury, enjoy the privileges of growing 
up in wealthy families. The past was not always better. There were 
triumphs to celebrate and great tragedies we must remember. The world 
has always been in conflict-sometimes masked in one way or another, 
other times outright silenced. And the seeds sown back then have yielded 
the bitter harvest we face today. This text is a call to new 
generations: as you begin to understand how the world works, learn about 
your recent history-a history often left out of the general narrative. 
For those born from the year 2000 onwards, it is worth noting key events 
such as the March 11, 2004, terrorist attacks in Atocha, Madrid; the 
protests against the invasion of Iraq; the collapse of Lehman Brothers, 
which triggered the 2008 global economic crisis; the Arab Spring; the 
Syrian War; the Rojava social revolution... and so many other events I 
will leave unmentioned here.

The bubble we grew up in as children burst in our faces as we got older, 
revealing that the prosperous future we were promised now looks 
increasingly uncertain. Turning eighteen brought a harsh dose of 
reality. Now that we understand so much, we ask ourselves what role we 
play-both as individuals and as the working class-in a climate that is 
increasingly hostile and threatened by the whims of the ruling class. 
Dreaming of utopias while the world collapses is an act of resistance, 
and the reason we fight for a life worth living.

Lusberth

https://regeneracionlibertaria.org/2026/09/11/cuentame-que-paso-en-el-mundo-mientras-aprendia-a-caminar/
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