Leaders in Spain Urge Protection and Strengthening of Democracy

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez led a gathering of international left-wing leaders in Barcelona on Saturday to “protect and strengthen” democracy. The meeting also signals a warming of relations between Spain and Mexico.

The forum, called “In Defense of Democracy,” the fourth of its kind, is taking place on the same day as a gathering of European far-right leaders in Milan, Italy, and also includes the President of the European Council, Antonio Costa, and heads of state from South Africa, Colombia, Uruguay, and Ireland.

The presence of Claudia Sheinbaum, the President of Mexico, in Catalonia carries symbolic significance, just weeks after King Felipe VI, for the first time, acknowledged “numerous abuses” during the Spanish conquest of America in the 16th century, a topic of tension between Madrid and Mexico for several months.

Upon her arrival for the meeting, Ms. Sheinbaum, in her first visit to Spain since taking office in October 2024, assured journalists that there was no “diplomatic crisis” between her country and Spain, and there never had been.

“I come from a people that recognizes its origins in great indigenous cultures, those that were silenced, enslaved, and plundered, but were never defeated, because there are memories that are not conquered and roots that are never torn up,” she declared at the meeting’s opening, also stating her intention to propose a declaration “against military intervention in Cuba.”

Reform of the United Nations

Opening the meeting, Spanish socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, one of the staunchest opponents of the ongoing war in the Middle East in Europe, expressed support for reforming the United Nations.

“We believe the time has come for the United Nations to be renewed, reformed, and, why not? led by a woman. This is not just a matter of justice, it is also a matter of credibility,” he stated.

“The context is clear: democracy cannot be taken for granted,” he also asserted, presenting the meeting as one of “a group of countries ready to do whatever is necessary to protect and strengthen the democratic system.”

Similar to his recent comments in Beijing, the Spanish Prime Minister had previously called on Friday for supporters of Lula to “renew” and “improve” the international multilateral system, in the face of those “who, actively or passively, consider it dead or work to undermine its foundations.”

This article was automatically generated. Sources: ats / blg / afp