Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez defended on Tuesday the need for a “coordinated” response to the advances of extremism and disinformation that threaten democracies around the world. “We must respond to the enemies of democracy with the same tenacity and coordination that they use to undermine it,” the president assured during the event.In defense of democracy. Combating extremism organized as part of the 79th United Nations General Assembly which began this week in New York.
The event, organized by Spain and Brazil, was attended by different leaders, such as Chilean Gabriel Boric, Frenchman Emmanuel Macron, Canadian Justin Trudeau and the President of the European Council, Charles Michel. The assault on the US Capitol on January 6, 2021 or the attack by thousands of Bolsonaro supporters on the Brazilian Congress in January 2023 are some of the scenarios that motivated the Spanish president and his Brazilian counterpart, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, to celebrate This first meeting aims to be “the first of others” organized in a “systematic” way to continue working in defense of democracy.
“We see every day that these attacks [a la democracia] “This is not an isolated phenomenon, but rather they have a transnational dimension that requires a coordinated response from all of us,” Sánchez stressed, referring to the disinformation campaigns promoted by the extreme right that are increasingly damaging trust in the democratic system. “It is a movement that does not recognize electoral results, denies science and therefore climate change, manipulates concepts such as freedom and questions the participation of women in politics,” she explained.
That is why the Spanish president defended the democratic regeneration plan that the government approved last week. The executive’s initiative contains a series of measures aimed at combating disinformation and promoting transparency and accountability in the media. “Citizens need to know who owns the media,” Sánchez said.
“We are facing powerful opponents”
Among the multiple causes of the rise of the extreme right, Sánchez highlighted that “we are facing powerful adversaries with significant sources of funding that feed networks of contacts on a global scale.” Or, as the Chilean president said in his speech: “President Lula has obtained millions of votes and a guy with a lot of money believes he can come and bend the hand of the legislation.” Boric’s reference could not be more eloquent, the “guy with a lot of money” is Elon Musk, owner of the social network X.
Brazil recently suspended the South African billionaire’s platform following an order from a Brazilian judge. Since then, Musk has threatened to take legal action, although recently it seems he has begun to give in to being able to reactivate the service in the Latin American country.
Musk has long established himself as a champion of the advance of the far right and the scourge of ideology. woke up (progressive) on the Internet. In the final stretch of the American election campaign, the billionaire has become the main propagator of the discourse favorable to the Republican Donald Trump, and has even acted as a spokesperson for his hoaxes. In exchange, Trump has already declared that he would grant him a position in his administration if he is re-elected on November 5. More specifically, he will appoint Musk as an advisor to carry out “drastic reforms” of public spending.
The relationship of the owner of the general.
The network of contacts that Sánchez was referring to also referred to the various events organized by the far right where the main world leaders met. In Madrid, last May, Vox organized its own congress aimed at unifying the far right of Europe and America. An event that echoed the ultraconservative conference organized by the far right of the American Republicans and in which Santiago Abascal, leader of Vox, participated. At the event organized in Washington, the far-right politician was able to take a photo with Trump. The tycoon, however, did not attend the party that Abascal later organized in Spain.
