What I Learned About Standing Up for Our Democracy From Traveling to Hungary
AFT Pennsylvania President Wendy Coleman and AFT-ASI President Randi Weingarten meet with Budapest Mayor Gergely Karacsony.
Recently I had the opportunity to accompany AFT President Randi Weingarten and three of my fellow AFT vice presidents — Illinois Federation of Teachers and Chicago Teachers Union President Stacy Davis Gates, AFT Massachusetts President Jessica Tang and CFT President Jeff Freitas — on a solidarity mission to Budapest, Hungary. In case you’re not familiar with Hungary’s political landscape and are wondering why AFT leaders would travel to the Eastern European nation: In April 2026 the country voted to oust authoritarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán after 16 years in power. This victory was years in the making by everyday people, including educators and students, who organized and protested against Orbán’s corruption and his crackdown on free speech, democracy, public education, immigration and human rights.
If that situation sounds familiar to you, there’s a reason: Donald Trump and his administration have long praised Orbán and have cited his autocratic government as a model to follow. We’ve seen the Trump administration attack our elections, try to undermine public education, infringe on a free press and violate human rights, and much like in Hungary, it is educators, unions, students and organizations across the U.S. that are pushing back against Trump’s attempts to erode our democracy and enshrine himself and his party in power.
As I prepared to travel to Budapest in the midst of the United States’ own democracy crisis, I felt eager to meet with the change-makers who led the charge against Orbán, learn everything I could about how they sustained their movement, and bring what I learned back home so we could continue to stand up for our democracy. Here are my top takeaways from the trip.
Every vote counts. We had the opportunity to hear from members of the Tisza Party — the political party of new Prime Minister Péter Magyar — who helped him campaign for nearly two years in the lead-up to the election; during that time, he visited every single county, regardless of size, and spoke with people of all political affiliations, even staunch Orbán supporters. By meeting people where they were and not discounting some simply because their political views didn’t align with his own, Magyar was able to have meaningful conversations about his positions, sway some of the voters, and ultimately help Hungary achieve its historic 80 percent voter-turnout rate in the April election. At a time when our politics in the United States feels more polarized than ever, hearing how Magyar overcame a similar divide in Hungary offers a clear reminder that we too still have the power and opportunity to come together and vote for change in this country.
It’s going to take all of us. Two of the highlights of the trip for me were meeting students from the historic Budapest University of Technology and Economics who had joined their teachers in the movement to stop Orbán, and connecting with one of those teachers, the president of the Pedagógusok Demokratikus Szakszervezete (the Democratic Trade Union of Teachers), Erzsébet Nagy. We got to hear firsthand how teachers across Hungary fought back against Orbán while he was forcing textbook companies to change the written history of the country, despite the threat to their jobs and even their families. Some of the students who joined them in protest described their experiences too, and one student even told us how she was arrested during a protest because she was identified by drone footage.
As educators, we know that teaching the facts is not only fundamental for education but also foundational for our democracy. And we know that standing up for each other and our democracy is not always easy or without risk, and it can take months, if not years, for change to happen. But seeing how the Hungarian people persisted in their fight reminded me that we are more powerful together and that we can continue to support each other in this fight, both in the U.S. and globally.
It’s clear that the success of the recent election would not have been possible without teachers, students and many other everyday people coming together to vote and protest in historic numbers. This is why, during our visit with the Hungarian minister of education, Judit Lannert, I shared about AFT Pennsylvania’s efforts to register students and young people to vote. To successfully fight back against authoritarianism in the United States, we need people both to join us in the streets as we protest — like at the upcoming “No Kings” day of action on Oct. 17 — and to make sure they are registered to vote and cast their ballots. It’s no coincidence that Hungary both saw massive protests in the streets and massive turnout at the polls, which led to Orbán being voted out. We need to make sure we do the same here at home.
We must invest in public education. One of the key signs of authoritarianism is attacking and undermining public education, which is exactly what Hungary experienced during its years under the Orbán regime. In some ways, this looks like changing textbooks, which I mentioned earlier. Or it might look like providing some children the opportunity to attend one of the 11 branch kindergartens in District 8 in Budapest while other children lack access. It can also look like the chronic underfunding of schools and underpaying of teachers. I met one student at the Egressy Gábor Secondary Technical School who said he’d love to become a teacher but has chosen to pursue training in information technology because a teacher’s salary isn’t enough to support a family.
As educators, we know all too well that this is not an isolated problem; it’s an issue in countries across the world. One of the key tools we have to fight back against authoritarianism and extreme ideologies is to provide access to high-quality education for every single child while also paying educators and other school staff family-sustaining salaries, so we can not only retain our educators but also recruit the next generation. If we are going to put a stop to the growing far-right movement in the U.S. and abroad, we must treat public education like the public good that it is and continue to invest in the future of our students.
Hope triumphs over fear. The theme of cooperation followed us throughout the trip. Members of the Tisza Party showed us a sampling of political ads from the election from both parties. The ads supporting then-candidate Magyar were firmly rooted in hope for the future, as opposed to Orbán’s negative ads that attempted to sow fear among voters. Given the historic voter-turnout rate and the clear victory of now-Prime Minister Magyar, it’s clear that the Hungarian people were ready for a positive change for their country. While talking to students and teachers throughout the trip, I heard them speak to their hope for the future as a driving force for why they were able to persist in the movement.
Holding on to hope can be a challenge as we continue to see the Trump administration spread fear, kidnap and deport innocent citizens and immigrants, try to undermine our elections, threaten human rights and wield seemingly unchecked power. But if I learned anything from the people I met in Hungary, it’s that keeping hope alive for the future is a powerful antidote for despair. While we may not be able to see the light at the end of the tunnel just yet, I know that a better future for all people is possible here in the United States.
Now that I have returned home, I’m feeling even more energized and committed to the movement to stand up for our democracy and fight for a better future. With less than 30 days to go until the general election, I’ll be joining our members at “No Kings” events on Oct. 17 and working to get out the vote over the next few weeks. The time to get involved is right now, and I hope you’ll join me.
(This piece originally appeared on AFT Voices.)