Pedro Sanchez Isn't Waiting for a Savior

"In mid-April, Spain's prime minister offered a hopeful alternative vision to the world. Without pausing for direction from Berlin or Paris, he hosted the Global Progressive Mobilization Summit, where remnants of the European left convened with leaders from the Global South to advance a bold program: defeat fascism through economic populism, reject military intervention, and fight the rise of authoritarianism."

"“A new world order is emerging. A world in which a zero-sum mentality prevails,” Sánchez declared in his blistering keynote address. “We must combat that vision, because it only brings conflict, inequality, and injustice.” Rejecting the growing anti-immigration sentiment, he continued, “Spain is the daughter of migration and will not be the mother of xenophobia. Don't be fooled.”"

"Context matters. A little over a decade ago, the Southern European left erupted with promise as Greece's Syriza party under Alexi Tsipras and Spain's Podemos under Pablo Iglesias offered rebuttals to the austerity imposed by the International Monetary Fund and Germany. Then Brexit set off a wave across Europe, empowering right-wing movements with their anti-immigrant populism. Today, much of the once-hopeful European left is fragmented and grasping for wins."

Spain’s prime minister hosted a Global Progressive Mobilization Summit bringing together remnants of the European left and leaders from the Global South. The program aimed to defeat fascism through economic populism, reject military intervention, and fight the rise of authoritarianism. The summit framed a new world order as driven by zero-sum thinking that produces conflict, inequality, and injustice. Spain’s stance against anti-immigration sentiment was emphasized, with migration presented as central to national identity. The context included earlier leftist momentum in Greece and Spain against IMF and German austerity, followed by Brexit-driven right-wing gains and fragmentation among the European left. The piece positions Pedro Sánchez’s approach as a hopeful alternative amid global instability.

Read at The Nation