The most famous cell marks the pace of anti-Trump socialism

BarcelonaA crowd of people moves in unison through the long corridors of Hall 8 of the Barcelona Fair as if following a rock star. No one this Friday 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 with our values and convictions," stressed the former Spanish president just before starting to attend to his followers. Some of them, young enough not to remember him in Moncloa, asked him to make the eyebrow gesture that he exploited so much during his campaign, and he gladly granted it.

In an era of influencers, Zapatero is one of those who work the most from the left, despite his channel not being 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 brief appearance at dusk— 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 suspending the meal 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 land on Friday night in Barcelona – will be the main draws on Saturday, along with Sánchez. "They ask me for updates 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 they will be paying attention this weekend to Barcelona, two Brazilian political activists, who are debating with one from Singapore in a round of quick debates – they change every two minutes –: "It is by no means 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 who dedicate themselves to politics because, they say, "they never quite disconnect."

Returning to Friday, 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 well-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 of the informal Agora

Equality of opportunity and gender, feminism, wealth redistribution ("Tax the superrich"), environmental defense, reconnecting with young people, the potential of immigration... the topics for 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 often happens, the informal Agora was not located in any of the eight rooms provided – with simultaneous debates – but around the only bar in the pavilion, which despite being a socialist event has kept the sandwiches at six euros, the donuts at 3, and the coca-colas at 4.5.

"Our objective is the end of United States domination. We have to join forces in favor of international law," comments Laura Flores, from the Historical Pact of Colombia, to el ARA. No one is hiding that Donald Trump is today the number one enemy of socialists and Sánchez intends for the summits of these two days to reinforce 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 have to work together for peace because the far-right forces need to be counteracted," comments Margarita Stolbizer, an Argentine deputy for 20 years who became a presidential candidate. Why is the far-right on the rise? 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 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 now, outside of its summits it does not have the same success.