Fernando Tormos-Aponte
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fernandotormos.com
Fernando Tormos-Aponte
@fernandotormos.com
9.1K followers 1.6K following 200 posts
I research social movements, intersectional solidarity, disasters, and environmental, racial, and economic justice at @pittsociology.bsky.social. I lead policy for the @jtalliance.bsky.social. @solverresearchlab.bsky.social director. www.fernandotormos.com
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See our new piece for NACLA on the fight for a just transition at COP30 in Belém
Please read and share this Just Transition Alliance analysis and call for establishing a #JustTransition mechanism at #COP30, published yesterday by the North American Congress on Latin America: nacla.org/establishing...
Reposted by Fernando Tormos-Aponte
" @povertyscholar.bsky.social said that losing food benefits is not only a crisis in itself, but it can lead to other crises...'Crises tend to cascade and compound...As this happens, people are less likely to vote.”

www.salon.com/2025/11/08/h...
How a loss of public benefits harms democracy - Salon.com
When public programs like SNAP are cut, voter turnout historically declines
www.salon.com
Trump appearing in the fox sports broadcast for an NFL game is a reminder that MAGA didn’t want politics out of sports, just anti-racist ones.
Reposted by Fernando Tormos-Aponte
"Despite Cop28’s global stocktake calling on all nations to contribute to “transitioning away from fossil fuels”, collectively there are still plans to produce more than double the amount of fossil fuels in 2030 than is consistent with ... 1.5C."

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Net zero is an insidious loophole that distracts from the scientific imperative to eliminate fossil fuels | Joëlle Gergis
History tells us that polite incrementalism and political kowtowing will prevail at Cop30 – even as catastrophe unfolds around us
www.theguardian.com
A lot of movements need to adapt to the death of shame, given that shaming was so central to their tactics
Puerto Rico’s federally appointed and unelected fiscal oversight board chose to pay its consultants while imposing austerity measures and denying any relief to families who will face the consequences of the loss of SNAP benefits.
Hurricane Melissa will be one of the most destructive hurricanes in history. It is among the ugliest reminders of the consequences of failures in climate action.
Eyes on Jamaica, which is expected to experience a catastrophic Cat. 5 hurricane. Meanwhile, polluters fail to pay their climate debt and for loss and damage.
Reposted by Fernando Tormos-Aponte
Grad students in political science and other social sciences! Consider applying to the great 2-week summer program in Qualitative and Multi-Method Research at Syracuse. Info is here:

www.maxwell.syr.edu/research/cen...
Institute for Qualitative & Multi-Method Research
www.maxwell.syr.edu
Reposted by Fernando Tormos-Aponte
With recent headlines and op-eps stunned by the pervasive usage of racist jokes by young republicans, I think it’s worth mentioning a recent book I wrote that might be useful for better understanding the historical and systemic roots of such humor
Remember how Trump and the GOP spend money when they say there’s no money to meet people’s basic needs.
the revolution will not be webinared
Imagine what Puerto Rico, Detroit, and Flint residents feel seeing a 40 billion dollar bailout of Argentina’s failed neoliberal experiment after the US imposed relentless austerity measures and blocked all fiscal autonomy. People lost their lives due to these measures.
No need to be ungovernable if they can't govern.
No need to shame the shameless.
Movements need to innovate. The tactics that worked in the past may not work today.
Reposted by Fernando Tormos-Aponte
“The right’s war on the academy and education is part of a generational war over what young people, especially young white people, will be taught and how they will be socialized."
www.bostonreview.net/articles/bui...
Building a Political Home - Boston Review
Activist and scholar Cathy J. Cohen on winning power in the midst of a “generational war.”
www.bostonreview.net
Reposted by Fernando Tormos-Aponte
While the choice to award Machado the Nobel Peace Prize is being framed as a kind of girl-boss democracy win, the reality is a bit more complicated.
The Norwegian Nobel Committee’s decision to award the Peace Prize to María Corina Machado is the latest honor given to a female democracy campaigner in recent years. Here's what to know.
Machado’s Peace Prize Is Latest Nobel Honor for Female Democracy Campaigners
Women in Iran, Liberia, Yemen and Myanmar have been recognized for their activism, occasionally while they were in prison and faced serious personal risk.
nyti.ms
I mean. She can be as honest as she wants. They're still pursuing a Congressional majority through racialized and partisan gerrymandering before the decennial census. Don't get distracted folks... Democrats might win the shutdown and still lose the Republic...
Marjorie Taylor Greene on polls showing Republicans are getting blamed for the shutdown: "I'm not putting the blame on the president. I'm actually putting the the blame on the Speaker and Leader Thune in the Senate. This should not be happening ... we control the House & Senate & have the WH."
Reposted by Fernando Tormos-Aponte
FYI, if you try to measure the strength of civil society (what Hahrie, Milan, and I call civic opportunity in our 2023 Nature Human Behaviour paper), you may want to consider using our org-, county-, and ZIP code-level datasets published in Scientific Data: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
The study that this article reports on correctly highlights the issues with carbon offsets, yet somehow manages to claim that this "intractable" systemic problem is fixable and that stakeholders should transition from one flawed policy to another (carbon dioxide removal and storage). 🙃
Reposted by Fernando Tormos-Aponte
Check out the "Kick Big Polluters Out" letter, endorsed by @jtalliance.bsky.social: kickbigpollutersout.org/Polluter-Fre...

And for more on #COP30, don't miss this "Forging Solidarities on the Just Transition Path to Belém" analysis by JTA's @fernandotormos.com: jtalliance.org/2025/09/16/f...
Glad the experts finally caught up with this longstanding reality
A new report from Bright Line Watch finds experts now rate the U.S. as a "mixed" or "illiberal" democracy. The rating is dragged down by Trump's attacks on institutions, a weak legislature, political violence, and partisan gerrymandering www.gelliottmorris.com/p/experts-no...
Experts now rate the U.S. as a "mixed" or "illiberal" democracy
Experts say political violence, Trump's attacks against non-partisan agencies and institutions, and partisan gerrymandering are their top concerns
www.gelliottmorris.com
Reposted by Fernando Tormos-Aponte
Thank you for presenting this case study, @fernandotormos.com! Learn more about the important work of Los Jardines Institute: losjardinesinstitute.org
Honored to present our @jtalliance.bsky.social case study on the Los Jardines Institute and the grassroots pursuit of a just transition in the US for the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Katowice Committee on Impacts.
*perception of power* This analysis applies to more than just this regime.
🗣️THIS is the message!!

Brava, Congresswoman @aoc.bsky.social!!
MAGA is not against student loan forgiveness as long as you join ICE
MAGA is not against government assistance as long as it is only benefiting its base
MAGA is not against government spending as long as it yields electoral gains
MAGA is not against hate speech as long as it targets its opponents