After passing through New York, Budapest and Bogota, the Network of Political Values, one of the most active actors in the international crusade against abortion or equal marriage, will hold the sixth edition of its Transatlantic Summit in Madrid. This will be the case on December 2 and not in just any space. The day, whose motto will be “for freedom and the culture of life”, will take place in the Senate, as announced by El País and confirmed by this media. These types of events are particularly useful to ultra groups, who use them to share strategies and speeches with the aim of imposing their agenda.
The organization announced its arrival in the capital through its website, in which its president, the far-right José Antonio Kast, invited to the event: “If you want to join your efforts with elected officials from more than 40 countries, we will wait for you at “This great meeting with which we seek to influence the international political scene and mark a change of direction in favor of freedom and the culture of life,” he says in front of the camera. Kast previously visited Spain last May, when he participated in an event organized by Vox at the Palacio Vistalegre in Madrid.
Concerning the celebration of the day in the Senate, a spokesperson explains that it is a “Council agreement”, that it is a “room transfer” and that the act “n ‘does not generate expenses for the House’. In fact, this is indicated in the minutes of the Council meeting, in which there are four members of the PP and three of the PSOE, of July 17, which specifies that the request came directly from the Network of Political Values, not from a political party.
A spokesperson for the Socialist parliamentary group acknowledges that only now have they become aware of the event and explains that this type of room transfer authorization, relatively common, generally involves “among many other issues administrative” which occur every week. and that “they are not voted on one by one”, so as none of the parties oppose it, we assume that they continue to move forward.
A collaborative network
The Political Values Network is one of the initiatives through which the conglomerate of actors who seek to overturn laws on abortion, sex education or LGTBI rights collaborate at the international level. He is part of the transnational community of ultras behind which hides “a carefully orchestrated strategy” against the promotion of rights, which has increased its activity in recent years and which already “produces concrete results”, details the latest Parliament report. European Union Forum on Sexual and Reproductive Rights (EPF), which mapped these organizations.
One of these recent “results” is the repeal in the United States of the Roe vs. Wade ruling of 1973, which guaranteed the right to abortion at the national level, and which has become a real reference to be reproduced in the rest of the countries for these collectives.
Indeed, within its board of directors, in addition to Kast, stand out several members of American organizations opposed to abortion and defending “the natural family”, including Brian Brown, president of the International Organization for the Family. Brown is, in turn, a board member of the CitizenGO Foundation, the international arm of HazteOír, which also includes Ignacio Arsuaga.
The same names are repeated on the boards of directors of several organizations. And it’s not just these groups that share strategies and ideas, but also representatives. One of the most active is the former minister in the government of José María Aznar, Jaime Mayor Oreja. Having become an international leader in the fight against abortion, Oreja is honorary president of the Political Values Network, which also includes popular former senator Javier Puente on its “advisory board”.
