As the only non-American state to participate in this weekend’s ‘Democracia Siempre’ summit in Chile, Spain submitted an ominous warning to its partners in Latin America, raising concerns over what its Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, fears is the seemingly gradual “rise of the far-right” across the region.
Discussions amongst the participants of the organization ranged from progress and development initiatives, solutions to the social and economic disparities in the region, ways to combat “misinformation”, and bolstering the bloc’s defenses against threats to regional democracies.
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, perhaps the more vocal of the representatives in attendance, urged his Latin American partners to “step forward” and “go on the offensive” against what he termed the rise of the far right, calling out unnamed powers, warning “democracy is threatened by a “coalition of interests between oligarchs and the far-right” that is on the rise in both Europe and the Americas.
The mandate of the ‘Democracia Siempre’ summit had been established by Brazilian President Lula da Silva in conjunction with their Iberian partners within the framework of the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly. This weekend, Chile’s President Gabriel Boric was the host of the event that welcomed the leaders of Colombia, Uruguay, Brazil, and Spain.
The group is composed of some of the more progressive leaders of governments throughout the region and was designed to address “issues of inequality and for the defense of democratic institutions.”
PM Sánchez rallied his fellow members against what he calls “international hate and lies” spreading across both continents, mounting a call to action against this “new anti-democratic offensive” taking shape.
The prime minister, however, is in the middle of his own scandals back home across the Atlantic, as increasing allegations against his administration of public corruption are stirring opposition party leaders to demand the Prime Minister’s resignation. Sánchez responded in a speech to the Spanish parliament recently by declaring, “I will not throw in the towel!”
A couple of weeks ago, a Supreme Court judge ordered the pretrial detention of Santos Cerdán, former aide to the prime minister and previous top member of Sánchez’s socialist party, over allegations that he received kickbacks for public works contracts. Another former Sánchez administrator is also caught up in investigations over involvement with Santos Cerdán.
Other administration officials facing separate corruption scandals include the prime minister’s former attorney general, his brother, as well as his wife, who have all denied any allegations of wrongdoing.
PM Sánchez is also up against mounting public outcry over a worsening migrant crisis in which thousands of undocumented immigrants, primarily from the North African region, land ashore on commandeered fishing vessels each month, swarming local towns and cities along the Spanish coast, exhausting local resources, and contributing to overcrowding where such local jurisdictions do not have the capacities to provide the bare necessities for these migrants, and in many cases, to the detriment of the native Spanish population.
Particularly, the small Spanish territory of the Canary Islands have been overrun by undocumented migrants, where more than 50,000 North Africans have landed since the start of the year.
Sánchez has also clashed heads with U.S. President Donald Trump over the issue of increased domestic spending on military defenses to NATO as the Russian offensive against Ukraine rages on. Trump pressured Sánchez over the now unanimously agreed standard of 5% on defense spending for all NATO member-states. However, Sánchez and Spain refused, claiming that the Iberian nation couldn’t afford the increase and had mounting domestic challenges that the government needed to address. Trump retorted that Spain will “have to pay us back… through tariffs”, which Sánchez denounced as “doubly unfair.”
Earlier this month, Sánchez issued an apology after audio was released that seemingly showed PSOE secretary Santos Cerdan discussing improperly awarding public contracts in exchange for commissions, BBC News reported. Prime Minister Sánchez has asked the Spanish voters for forgiveness.
Sánchez has also announced recently that he plans to run for reelection in 2027.
