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An article by Julia Conley from Common Dreams (reprinted according to Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND 3.0)

Arriving in Spain on Friday for a two-day visit that will center on a gathering of progressive leaders from more than 100 political parties across five continents, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva emphasized that the summit was not “an anti-Trump meeting.”

But the contrast between US President Donald Trump’s violent foreign and domestic policies and the international meeting, which will focus on wage inequality and electoral strategy for progressives, was unmistakable as Spanish President Pedro Sánchez opened  the gathering at a press conference in Barcelona on Friday.

“We want to double our efforts to work for peace and for a reinforced multilateral order. While others open wounds, we want to mend them and cure them,” said Sánchez.

Da Silva—who is commonly called Lula—and Sánchez, as well as other leaders who will be attending the weekend event, have spoken out forcefully against Trump’s policies and the rise of the far right in the US, Germany, Italy, and other European countries.

Sánchez has refused  to allow US fighter planes to use Spanish military bases for missions in the US-Israeli war on Iran and  closed  the country’s airspace to American military aircraft—plus doubled down on his condemnation of Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s war even after the US president threatened  Spain with a trade embargo.

Lula expressed solidarity with Pope Leo this week after the pontiff denounced  the Iran war, and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, who will also attend the meeting, took aim  last month at Trump’s claim that her country is the “epicenter of cartel violence”—blaming the US for the flow of illegal weapons into Mexico.

Lula emphasized that the 3,000 attendees of the summit, which will include the IV Meeting in Defense of Democracy as well as a gathering called the Global Progressive Mobilization on Saturday, will “discuss the state of democracy, to see what went wrong and what we have to do to repair it.”

The Brazilian president added that “Brazil and Spain are side by side in the trenches together.”

“We are an example that it is possible to find solutions to problems without giving into the empty promises of extremism,” said Lula. “Democracy must go beyond just voting and bring real benefits to people’s lives.”

Sánchez added that “in a world that doubts and fragments, Spain and Brazil open a new chapter convinced that our countries have something the world needs: the strength to build bridges where others raise walls.”

The Global Progressive Mobilization meeting will include roundtables dedicated to discussing economic inequality and other issues at a time when, as one report showed  earlier this month, the richest 0.1% of people on the planet are stashing more than $2.8 trillion in tax havens—more than the wealth owned by the entire bottom 50% of humanity.

The economic hardships of working people have only been exacerbated by the war on Iran, which has sent global energy prices soaring.

US Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) is the only federal US official planning to attend the gathering, while New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani—who has swiftly taken steps toward enacting  a universal childcare program and announced  a plan to tax second homes valued at over $5 million since taking office in January, is scheduled to participate virtually.

Also on Saturday, Lula and Sánchez will host the IV Meeting in Defense of Democracy, a summit first held in 2024 with the aim of combating “extremism, polarization, and misinformation.”

Where in the world can we find good leadership today?

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European Council President António Costa, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, Colombian President Gustavo Petro, and leaders from Albania, Ghana, and Lithuania are among those attending the meeting on democracy.

Lula said the large number of attendees is evidence that progressive governments are winning more influence around the world despite the rise of authoritarian political parties.

“Our flock is growing. We must give hope to the world,” said Lula. “Otherwise, what happened with [Nazi leader Adolf] Hitler is going to happen.”

Economist Gabriel Zucman, who joined  Mamdani this week in publishing an op-ed calling for an end to regressive tax systems and highlighting a proposal for a 2% tax on the wealth of those with more than €100 million, or $117 million, expressed hope that the global left is amassing power by building a cooperative international movement.

“The good news is that, from Zohran Mamdani and [Congresswoman] Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in New York to Pedro Sánchez in Spain, from Lula in Brazil to [Green Party Leader] Zack Polanski in the UK, we may be seeing the early signs of a new cross-border alliance taking shape against global oligarchy,” said Zucman. “And I have no doubt that in this fight—the defining battle of the 21st century—democracy will prevail. See you in Barcelona this weekend to press ahead!”

(Editor’s note: It seems that there was no official press release with the results of the meetings in Barcelona on April 17 and 28, but here is some additional information about the meetings, drawn from other sources:

The summit is intended to become a regular event, aiming to “unite progressive forces from around the world.” 

The presence of Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum at the meeting has a symbolic character, just a few weeks after King Felipe VI acknowledged, for the first time, “numerous abuses” during the Spanish conquest of America in the 16th century, a subject of tension between Madrid and Mexico for many months. Sheinbaum declared at the opening of the meeting, “”I come from a people who recognize their origin in the great indigenous cultures, those that were silenced, enslaved and plundered, but that were never defeated, because there are memories that cannot be conquered and roots that can never be uprooted,”

Colombian President Gustavo Petro told the press on Friday that “by firmly opposing the war waged by the United States and Israel against Iran , “it seems to me that Spain’s position is at the forefront in Europe.”

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, who campaigned alongside Kamala Harris in her aborted presidential bid against Donald Trump, addressed a large crowd Saturday at the first Global Progressive Mobilization, describing Trump as a “warmonger” with no real plan. Walz denounced an apparent authoritarian drift under Trump, stating that “it has to be called by its name. It’s fascism. Or at least, it’s becoming fascist, as they would say.”

 Giacomo Filibeck , Secretary-General of the Party of European Socialists (PES)., said Left-wing parties needed to show voters there was an alternative to what organisers called the “right-wing international”. No sitting prime minister of a large western European country took the stage.

A Eouropean delegation included German Vice-Chancellor Lars Klingbeil, British Foreign Secretary David Lammy, Italian opposition leader Elly Schlein, and Belgian politician Paul Magnette. The President of the European Council, António Costa, cancelled his visit at the last minute.

Alexander Soros, son of financier George Soros and now chair of the Open Society Foundations (OSF) acted in practice as a third host alongside Sánchez and Lula. Writing on X at the close of the meeting, he said it had been “an honor to welcome so many incredible leaders” to Barcelona, and posted photographs of himself with the Spanish Prime Minister. Pedro Abramovay, a senior OSF programme official, appeared on the speaker list, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation also took part.

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