{"id":39379,"date":"2026-04-23T09:32:56","date_gmt":"2026-04-23T07:32:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/english.cpnn-world.org\/?p=39379"},"modified":"2026-04-23T09:44:01","modified_gmt":"2026-04-23T07:44:01","slug":"sanchez-lula-lead-work-for-peace-and-equality-at-gathering-of-global-progressive-leaders-in-spain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/english.cpnn-world.org\/?p=39379","title":{"rendered":"S\u00e1nchez, Lula Lead \u2018Work for Peace\u2019 and Equality at Gathering of Global Progressive Leaders in Spain"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION .<\/p>\n

An article by Julia Conley from Common Dreams <\/a> (reprinted according to Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND 3.0)<\/p>\n

Arriving in\u00a0Spain\u00a0on 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 In\u00e1cio Lula da Silva emphasized that the summit was not \u201can anti-Trump meeting.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/center><\/p>\n

But the contrast between US President Donald Trump\u2019s violent foreign and domestic policies and the international meeting, which will focus on wage\u00a0inequality\u00a0and electoral strategy for\u00a0progressives, was unmistakable as Spanish President Pedro S\u00e1nchez\u00a0opened\u00a0<\/a> the gathering at a press conference in\u00a0Barcelona\u00a0on Friday.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe 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,\u201d said\u00a0S\u00e1nchez.
\nDa Silva\u2014who is commonly called Lula\u2014and\u00a0S\u00e1nchez, as well as other leaders who will be attending the weekend event, have spoken out forcefully against Trump\u2019s policies and the rise of the far right in the US, Germany, Italy, and other European countries.<\/p>\n

S\u00e1nchez\u00a0has\u00a0refused\u00a0<\/a> to allow US fighter planes to use Spanish military bases for missions in the US-Israeli war on Iran and\u00a0 closed\u00a0<\/a> the country\u2019s airspace to American military aircraft\u2014plus doubled down on his condemnation of Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu\u2019s war even after the US president\u00a0threatened\u00a0<\/a> Spain with a\u00a0trade\u00a0embargo.<\/p>\n

Lula expressed\u00a0solidarity\u00a0with Pope Leo this week after the pontiff\u00a0denounced\u00a0<\/a> the Iran war, and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, who will also attend the meeting,\u00a0took aim\u00a0<\/a> last month at Trump\u2019s claim that her country is the \u201cepicenter of cartel violence\u201d\u2014blaming the US for the flow of illegal weapons into Mexico.<\/p>\n

Lula emphasized that the 3,000 attendees of the summit, which will include the IV Meeting in Defense of\u00a0Democracy\u00a0as well as a gathering called the Global Progressive Mobilization on Saturday, will \u201cdiscuss the state of democracy, to see what went wrong and what we have to do to repair it.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Brazilian president added that \u201cBrazil\u00a0and Spain are side by side in the trenches together.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are an example that it is possible to find solutions to problems without giving into the empty promises of\u00a0extremism,\u201d said Lula. \u201cDemocracy must go beyond just voting and bring real benefits to people\u2019s lives.\u201d<\/p>\n

S\u00e1nchez\u00a0added that \u201cin 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

The\u00a0Global Progressive Mobilization meeting will include roundtables dedicated to discussing\u00a0economic inequality\u00a0and other issues at a time when, as one report\u00a0showed\u00a0<\/a> earlier this month, the richest 0.1% of people on the planet are stashing more than $2.8 trillion in tax havens\u2014more than the wealth owned by the entire bottom 50% of humanity.<\/p>\n

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

US Sen.\u00a0Chris Murphy\u00a0(D-Conn.) is the only federal US official planning to attend the gathering, while\u00a0New York City\u00a0Mayor Zohran Mamdani\u2014who has swiftly taken steps toward\u00a0enacting\u00a0<\/a> a universal childcare program and\u00a0announced\u00a0<\/a> a plan to tax second homes valued at over $5 million since taking office in January, is scheduled to participate virtually.<\/p>\n

Also on Saturday, Lula and\u00a0S\u00e1nchez\u00a0will host the IV Meeting in Defense of Democracy, a summit first held in 2024 with the aim of combating \u201cextremism, polarization, and misinformation.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Question related to this article:<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\n<\/p>\n

Where in the world can we find good leadership today?<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

(article continued from left column)<\/p>\n

European Council President Ant\u00f3nio Costa, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, Colombian President Gustavo Petro, and leaders from Albania, Ghana, and\u00a0Lithuania\u00a0are among those attending the meeting on democracy.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur flock is growing. We must give hope to the world,\u201d\u00a0said\u00a0Lula<\/a>. \u201cOtherwise, what happened with [Nazi leader Adolf] Hitler is going to happen.\u201d<\/p>\n

Economist Gabriel Zucman, who\u00a0joined\u00a0<\/a> 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 \u20ac100 million, or $117 million, expressed hope that the global left is amassing power by building a cooperative international movement.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe good news is that, from\u00a0Zohran Mamdani\u00a0and [Congresswoman]\u00a0Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez\u00a0in New York to Pedro S\u00e1nchez in Spain, from Lula in Brazil to [Green Party\u00a0Leader] Zack Polanski in the UK, we may be seeing the early signs of a new cross-border alliance taking shape against global\u00a0oligarchy,\u201d\u00a0said\u00a0Zucman. \u201cAnd I have no doubt that in this fight\u2014the defining battle of the 21st century\u2014democracy will prevail. See you in Barcelona this weekend to press ahead!\u201d<\/p>\n

. . . .<\/center><\/p>\n

(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:<\/strong><\/p>\n

The\u00a0summit <\/a> is intended to become a regular event, aiming to “unite progressive forces from around the world.”\u00a0<\/p>\n

The presence of Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum <\/a> 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,”<\/p>\n

Colombian President Gustavo Petro <\/a> told the press on Friday that “by firmly opposing the war waged by the\u00a0United States and Israel against Iran\u00a0, “it seems to me that Spain’s position is at the forefront in Europe.”<\/p>\n

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz<\/a>, 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.”<\/p>\n

\u00a0Giacomo Filibeck <\/a>, 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 \u201cright-wing international\u201d. No sitting prime minister of a large western European country took the stage.<\/p>\n

A Eouropean delegation <\/a> 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, Ant\u00f3nio Costa, cancelled his visit at the last minute.<\/p>\n

Alexander Soros<\/a>, son of financier George Soros and now chair of the Open Society Foundations (OSF) acted in practice as a third host alongside S\u00e1nchez and Lula. Writing on X at the close of the meeting, he said it had been \u201can honor to welcome so many incredible leaders\u201d 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.<\/p>\n

– – – – – –<\/p>\n

If you wish to make a comment on this article, you may write to coordinator@cpnn-world.org with the title “Comment on (name of article)” and we will put your comment on line. Because of the flood of spam, we have discontinued the direct application of comments.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION . An article by Julia Conley from Common Dreams (reprinted according to Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND 3.0) Arriving in\u00a0Spain\u00a0on 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 In\u00e1cio Lula da Silva emphasized that … Continue reading S\u00e1nchez, Lula Lead \u2018Work for Peace\u2019 and Equality at Gathering of Global Progressive Leaders in Spain<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[75,15,76],"tags":[33,11],"class_list":["post-39379","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-europe","category-information","category-global","tag-europe","tag-global"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/english.cpnn-world.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39379","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/english.cpnn-world.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/english.cpnn-world.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english.cpnn-world.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english.cpnn-world.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=39379"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/english.cpnn-world.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39379\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":39384,"href":"https:\/\/english.cpnn-world.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39379\/revisions\/39384"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/english.cpnn-world.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=39379"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english.cpnn-world.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=39379"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english.cpnn-world.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=39379"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}