BARCELONA, Spain — Democratic leaders from multiple nations convened in Spain’s second-largest city Saturday to address growing threats to liberal democracy worldwide, as far-right movements gain momentum and international conflicts strain global stability.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, known for his vocal opposition to President Donald Trump and the ongoing U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, organized two concurrent events focused on democratic values and progressive governance at a Barcelona convention facility.
The fourth iteration of the Meeting in Defense of Democracy drew presidents from Brazil (Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva), Mexico (Claudia Sheinbaum), South Africa (Cyril Ramaphosa), and Colombia (Gustavo Petro), alongside senior officials from ten additional nations. British Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy also participated in the discussions.
Though Trump’s name wasn’t explicitly mentioned during the portions accessible to media, his administration’s unilateral approach—which breaks from longstanding U.S. foreign policy traditions—and his criticism of NATO and the United Nations created an underlying tension at the gathering aimed at preserving multilateral cooperation.
“We all see the attacks against the multilateral system, the repeated attempts to undermine international law and the dangerous normalization of the use of force,” Sánchez stated as the conference began.
The Spanish leader outlined priorities including strengthening multilateral institutions through U.N. reform, implementing social media regulations to curb hate speech and false information, and developing strategies to address widening economic disparities.
“We all share the vision that democracy is the best system to respond to the complexities of our societies,” he declared.
Brazil, Spain, and Chile established this forum in 2024 to facilitate idea-sharing aimed at countering what organizers describe as “extremism, polarization and misinformation” that weakens democratic participation.
Saturday evening will feature the debut Global Progressive Mobilization, bringing together approximately 3,000 left-leaning elected officials and policy experts for strategic discussions.
These meetings followed Friday’s summit between Sánchez and Lula at a former Barcelona royal residence, where they expressed mutual concerns about global instability stemming from Russia’s Ukrainian invasion, Israel’s Gaza operations following Hamas attacks, and current Iranian conflicts affecting energy markets.
Both Lula and Sánchez represent a shrinking group of progressive leaders who maintain domestic popularity while advocating for multilateral agreements, human rights protections, environmental safeguards, and gender equality—principles frequently challenged by Trump, Argentina’s libertarian President Javier Milei, and European far-right movements.
