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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Source: A-infos-en@ainfos.ca
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