The most famous cell sets the pace for anti-Trump socialism
BarcelonaA crowd of people moves in unison through the long corridors of the North Pavilion of the Barcelona Fair as if following a rock star. No one this Saturday has generated the expectation of José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, the great protagonist of the first day of the Global Progressive Mobilisation (GPM). "Progressivism must be united, it must be brave. We will never win by complaining about what the right does, but by convincing of our values and convictions," the former Spanish president stressed just before starting to attend to his followers. Some of them, young enough not to remember him in the Moncloa, asked him to make the eyebrow gesture that he exploited so much during the campaign, and he gladly granted it.
In an era of influencers, Zapatero is one of those who do the most work from the left, even if his channel is not social media. He has arrived in Barcelona, in theory, to be the opening act for Sunday's meeting between Pedro Sánchez —who was cheered when he made a fleeting appearance in the afternoon— and about twenty international leaders in defense of democracy. Some of them, like Gustavo Petro (Colombia), have already spent some time at the Fair. He arrived and left before the president of the Generalitat, Salvador Illa, with whom he ended up postponing the lunch they had planned. Illa did meet with Isabel Allende, the president of the Socialist International, and, at the Barcelona Supercomputing Center, with Lula da Silva. On Sunday, he will make the same visit with Claudia Sheinbaum.
The presidents of Brazil and Mexico – who will land on Saturday night in Barcelona – will be the main draws on Sunday, along with Sánchez. "They ask me for access every hour, especially those interested in Lula and Sheinbaum," explains Andrés Flores, a journalist for Telesur – with coverage in Latin America and the Caribbean –. They are not so sure that in Brazil, two Brazilian political activists will be paying attention to Barcelona this weekend, who are debating with one from Singapore in a rapid-fire debate round – they change every two minutes –: "It is far from being the main topic of debate," they explain, also thinking about the bilateral summit with Spain. They are more concerned about the mental health of those dedicated to politics because, they say, "they never quite disconnect."
Returning to Saturday, and despite the fact that various Spanish ministers have been seen – Paco asked José Manuel Albares for a photo – and also socialist representatives from the five continents – more than 3,000 people have passed through the Fair –, the other known figure who has caused some stir has been Sarah Santaolalla, the analyst who flirts with the unity of the left beyond the PSOE. Former president Montilla has been a speaker on democratic memory and one of the few who have used Catalan, even if only to say good morning.
The recipe for the informal Agora
Opportunities and gender equality, feminism, wealth redistribution ("Tax the superrich"), environmental defense, reconnecting with young people, the potential of immigration... the topics of debate continue to be the same, but this summit has been held, above all, with another objective: to combat the far-right. In an interview, Petro even said that "Hitler lives in Europe". As usually happens, the informal Agora was not located in any of the eight enabled rooms – with simultaneous debates – but around the only bar in the pavilion, which despite being a socialist event has maintained sandwiches at six euros, donuts at 3 and Coca-Colas at 4.5.
"Our objective is the end of the domination of the United States. We must unite forces in favor of international law," comments Laura Flores, from the Historical Pact of Colombia, to el ARA. No one hides that Donald Trump is today the number one enemy of socialists and Sánchez intends for the summits of these two days to strengthen his role as a reference for the cause. "Mamdani's election is a response to the far-right," emphasizes Ana Maria Archila, international commissioner for the mayor of New York.
"The current moment makes this summit more important. We must work together for peace because the far-right forces need to be countered," comments Margarita Stolbizer, an Argentine deputy for 20 years who ran for president. Why is the far-right rising? According to her, "hate speech is permeable when people suffer" and, therefore, the political unity of the left is not enough: "Public policies must respond to the people." Stolbizer, now retired, has been in Catalonia for a month to see her family, but has not been able to see her son play at the Palau Blaugrana: Nico Laprovittola, one of the key players for Barça basketball, was injured in early March.
Although they are presented as debates, in general everyone has agreed with everything that has been said. The problem for socialism is that, for the moment, outside of its summits it does not have the same success.