Barcelona, Spain. Spain’s Pedro Sanchez and Brazil’s Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva will lead two gatherings of the global left in Barcelona on Friday and Saturday aimed at defending multilateralism and mobilising left-wing movements against the far right.
Meetings and objectives
The meetings are organised by Spain and left-wing political networks. Organisers said the “Global Progressive Mobilisation,” starting on Friday, aims to mobilise advocates of left-wing ideas and culminate in a declaration of common actions on goals including defending democracy and advancing the green transition.
A second gathering on Saturday, titled “In defence of democracy,” is organised by the Spanish government and is the fourth instalment of a summit launched by Lula and Sanchez in 2024.
International context
The meetings come as U.S. President Donald Trump’s swift cuts to humanitarian aid, military interventions and threats to abandon NATO have shaken the status quo of international relations and prompted a rethink of global allegiances.
The mobilisation follows what organisers described as a wake-up call for European socialists after the far-right surge in EU elections in 2024.
Participants and political backdrop
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, who has also clashed with Trump, will attend, as will Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum. Her attendance marks the first visit to Spain by a Mexican president since 2018 after years of tension over the legacy of Spanish colonial rule.
Both Sanchez and Lula are critics of the Trump administration, and both face growing far-right challenges in upcoming election races. Sanchez has been particularly outspoken over the Iran war.
Sanchez said the gatherings are intended to show that progressive parties and governments are part of something beyond domestic politics, speaking in Beijing during a visit to China where he and President Xi Jinping pledged closer ties.
European developments and event scale
Europe’s far right lost one of its biggest champions with the defeat of Hungary’s nationalist leader Viktor Orban in Sunday’s election. Sanchez hailed the result, saying “the wave can be stopped, and Hungary proves it”.
In the other event hosted by Spain’s Socialist Party, 3,000 people including current and former heads of state, around 400 mayors, unions, activists, and political parties will gather for two days. Sanchez and Lula will close the event.
Giacomo Filibeck, Secretary-General of the Party of European Socialists, said radical forces in their countries are sponsoring extreme right-wing movements and that an alternative needs to be shown.
What do you think the Barcelona gatherings will achieve in mobilising left-wing movements against the far right?
