Sánchez surrounds himself with left-wing leaders to make Barcelona the global anti-Trump capital

BarcelonaPedro Sánchez has inaugurated with Lula da Silva, president of Brazil, the weekend with which the Spanish government seeks to establish Barcelona as one of the reference cities against trumpism. The two leaders met this morning at the Palau de Pedralbes, where they held a meeting, and thus inaugurate two days in which up to three summits of international progressivism coincide in the Catalan capital, with the Spanish president acting as host.

Lula and Claudia Sheinbaum (Mexico), as the main draws of the event, and seven other heads of state or government –Cyril Ramaphosa (South Africa), Gustavo Petro (Colombia), Yamandú Orsi (Uruguay), Inga Ruginiené (Lithuania), Mia Mottley (Barbados), Edi Rama (Albania), and José Maria Neves (Cabo Verde)–, are the most prominent names of the event, which presents Barcelona as one of the world capitals in favor of democracy and peace. Or, what many use as a synonym in these times, to make it one of the reference cities against Trump —although Lula and Sheinbaum deny that it is a meeting against the president of the U.S.

The highlight of this Friday has been the bilateral summit between Spain and Brazil, the first time the two states have resorted to this format. After the welcome from the President of the Generalitat, the meeting between Sánchez and Lula has run in parallel to the one held by ten ministers from each delegation. The two presidents have shown synergy and various commercial agreements have been signed (for example, on critical minerals); in science and culture; and also of a social nature (to combat violence against women, in favor of equality, etc.). Spain is the second largest investor in Brazil.

Lula and Sánchez are also the instigators of the other two meetings of the weekend. Between Friday and Saturday, the Global Progressive Mobilisation will be held at Fira de Barcelona, which the two of them will be in charge of closing on Saturday afternoon. World leaders of the left will be passing through, and numerous roundtables and working sessions will be held. Some of the heads of government who are to meet with Sánchez will participate, as well as other politicians such as the former president of Chile Gabriel Boric; the former Palestinian prime minister Mohammad Shtayyeh; the Democratic senator from Connecticut (United States), Chris Murphy; or the former Swedish prime minister and president of the European Socialist Party, Stefan Löfven. A message is also expected from the new mayor of New York, Zohran Mamdani. The Socialist International is one of the organizers of what aims to be a forum to combat the international far-right, which has the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) as one of its main references on the international stage (with Donald Trump, Santiago Abascal, Javier Milei, and Viktor Orbán as some of the leaders involved).

IV Summit for Democracy

And all of this will come to a climax on Saturday morning, also at the Fira de Barcelona, with the IV Summit for Democracy, an initiative once again by Lula and Sánchez, who two years ago in New York decided to establish a stable communication channel between international progressivism. Since then, two meetings have been held in the US city under the auspices of the United Nations, one in Chile, and now it is Barcelona's turn. It will be here where the prime ministers will have their family photo – some twenty countries will be represented – and, probably, where the most powerful image of the weekend will emerge. The one that will vindicate what Sánchez already pointed out on his recent trip to China: a decisive commitment to multilateralism at a time when the world is reeling from wars.

Sánchez has been seeking international recognition and leadership that eludes him in Spanish domestic politics for some time. Having become the main opponent to the policies of the President of the United States, he is now also gathering a part of his political family's allies at his home. And he chooses Barcelona and not Madrid, with the symbolism that this entails. Not only because the Catalan capital is one of the benchmarks for the left in Europe, but also because it has not been long since the independence movement made it unfeasible to consider such a large gathering of international leaders as the one organized this weekend by the Spanish government. In December 2018, Sánchez already wanted to vindicate the "normality" that his government should bring to Catalonia-Spain relations by holding a cabinet meeting in the center of Barcelona, against which important citizen demonstrations were called. The 2023 Franco-Spanish summit in Montjuïc also mobilized protests from the independence movement. Now, however, no significant demonstration has been announced.

Reconciliation with Mexico

Lula is the star guest, but Claudia Sheinbaum's presence offers another interpretation of events: the reconciliation between the governments of Mexico and Spain is well on its way. Sources from Moncloa explain that on this occasion there will be no bilateral meeting between the two, who will greet each other on Saturday at the democracy summit, but they point to the possibility that it will not be long in coming. It will be the first time the Mexican head of state travels to the Spanish state in eight years, due to the diplomatic tensions that have arisen around the conquest of America.

Sheinbaum personally announced a few days ago her presence at the Barcelona summit as a possible turning point in relations with Spain. And all this, after the move by Felipe VI, acknowledging that there were "abuses" in the conquest of America. The photo between Sánchez and Sheinbaum will be one of the most sought-after of the weekend.