May First Movement Technology is a membership-based non-profit organisation that is part of the APC network and operates in Mexico and the United States to strengthen movements by furthering the strategic use and collective control of technology. It does so with a focus on local struggles, global transformation and emancipation without borders. Coinciding with the collective’s 20th anniversary, APC reached out to Sursiendo, one of the members of the May First network in Mexico and an APC member organisation as well, to speak about technology, movement building and the challenges we face in the current global context.
Looking back at all the changes we have seen over the last 20 years and based on your experience as a member, how has May First’s mandate changed or evolved? What conditions are radically different now from how they were in the beginning?
There have been different evolutions in the field of digital culture in the past 20 years, starting with the popularisation of social networks, which in 2005 were only just beginning to emerge. Back then, they promised freedom of expression, the possibility of connecting everyone around the world and giving visibility to those who have been historically invisibilised. As we have come to realise, that promise was used as bait for prioritising doing business above all else, even above basic human rights, now that the internet and digital networks are such a major part of everyday life everywhere in the world. In recent years, we have also seen more and more people searching for alternatives to Big Tech, a trend that has increased in recent months. May First’s significance reflects this greater awareness of the importance of digital autonomy, of digital care and the creation of liberated spaces.
In the current scenario, dominated by big tech corporations, what role do autonomous technology providers play?
Collectives, cooperatives, associations, grassroots connections around digital networks are critical for creating digital autonomy, with healthier, more equal and fairer networks. And technology providers are a fundamental part of that, as while they are often invisibilised, they are the gateway for connecting, so we need them to have ethical, fair, greener and healthier policies.
At Sursiendo, you are conducting a research study with May First on autonomous servers and environmental justice. What can you tell us about that initiative?
Our collaboration has to do with the project on “Actions for environmental justice through autonomous and community-based technological infrastructures”. We focus on understanding the main challenges, possibilities and impossibilities associated with the incorporation of the environmental agenda into the day-to-day activities of small and medium-sized independent suppliers. In the project proposal we also state that corporate internet monopolies are not in the business of facilitating communication; the focus of their business is data gathering and data mining. Their business models are extractive and exploitative. However, we often find responses to the climate crisis designed for these large data centres, to the exclusion of smaller projects designed with very different characteristics and needs in mind. In terms of environmental sustainability, smaller infrastructure projects start out with an advantage because they are not geared towards data gathering and monitoring models. But, what other actions, options and strategies can these infrastructures apply? Our aim is to conduct a participatory research study with small and medium-sized internet service providers, including independent, feminist, cooperative and alternative projects, such as those of members of the InfraRed initiative, in which May First participates. The research will include interviews, virtual meetings and the drafting of a final report setting out needs, conclusions and proposals for action.
APC and May First have a symbiotic relationship: both organisations are part of the other’s network, and Sursiendo is a member of both. Can you think of examples in which this collaboration was especially useful or had a meaningful impact?
The two networks complement each other very well. One is more global and focused on generating ideas and political efforts, and the other is more localised, giving a space to social struggles. Both have as a political project the humanisation of technologies, the struggle for digital rights and the democratisation of communications. It is a good symbiosis.
What advice would you give someone who is just starting out in the fields of technology and movement building, considering the current political uncertainty?
As former footballer Alfredo Di Stéfano said many years ago, “No one is as good on their own as they are when they join together with others.” Despite the constant thrust towards individualism, largely due to technologies, we believe that building collective movements, creating community in diversity and equity, is more important today than ever. Instead of blindly embracing or imposing absolute truths, we must learn from others around us. We can also make a difference in climate matters, supporting each other to achieve much-needed transformations in that sense and pressuring those in power to change radically.