The Spanish leader pointed a finger in particular at U.S. tariffs and the war in the Middle East for leading to a broad erosion of multilateral institutions.
BARCELONA — Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez vowed Saturday to “twist the arm” of the far-right forces trying to dismantle the international order, rallying left-leaning world leaders and activists at a summit billed as a show of resistance by progressive powers.
Speaking at the Global Progressive Mobilization conference in Barcelona, the Spanish leader cast the event as a coordinated international pushback against what he described as a globalized far-right movement.
Sánchez pointed a finger in particular at U.S. tariffs and the war in the Middle East for leading to a broad erosion of multilateral institutions, a development to which he said the global left needs to respond.
“We will twist the arm of the people who think they are completely untouchable,” Sánchez told the crowd. “The billionaires with greed that is unlimited. Those who speculate with houses of people,” he said.
He singled out oligarchs “who want to get richer using our democracy and the mental health of our youngsters.”
“When we progressives reach government, it is not to serve the elites — we put them in their place,” said Sánchez.
He said the far right was “organizing internationally” but insisted their numbers betrayed weakness rather than strength. “They shout not because they are winning but because they know their time is about to be over,” he said.
Some 6,000 left-leaning elected officials, policy analysts and activists attended the event in Barcelona. Organizers said the gathering would conclude with a joint declaration outlining coordinated action on shared priorities including inequality, climate and digital regulation.
The gathering drew an unusually broad cast of heads of state and government, including Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, South Africa’s Cyril Ramaphosa and Colombian President Gustavo Petro.