Leaders call for unity to counter global far right

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4 days ago

Uruguayan President Yamandu Orsi (2-L), Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (L), Chilean President Gabriel Boric (C), Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez (2-R) and Colombian President Gustavo Petro (R), converse during the summit in defense of democracy at La Moneda Palace in Santiago, Chile, on Monday. Photo by Elvis Gonzalez/EPA
July 22 (UPI) -- For 24 hours, Chile became the center of a progressive call for unity to counter the rise of the global far right.
Under the slogan "Democracy Always," Presidents Gabriel Boric of Chile, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of Brazil, Gustavo Petro of Colombia and Yamandú Orsi of Uruguay, and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez met Monday in the Chilean capital, Santiago, to lay out a common roadmap in the face of what they described as subtle, but corrosive, threats to democracy.
During the meeting, participants warned that democracy is being threatened in many parts of the world -- not only by military force, but also by more insidious tools such as disinformation, rising hatred, corruption and the concentration of power.
The leaders called for the formation of a united global progressive front.
Sánchez denounced what he described as an "international reactionary movement of hate and lies," while Lula warned of "a new antidemocratic offensive."
Petro addedd, "Progressive forces around the world must come together and turn on the light when darkness falls."
While the "Democracy Always" declaration focused on the need to strengthen multilateralism and address both internal and external threats to democracies, some analysts say the alliance's shared position on the United States can be inferred from the principles it promotes.
"The summit strongly emphasized the need to bolster multilateralism as a counterweight to unilateralism. If the United States promotes a form of multilateralism based on respect for international institutions and international law, this progressive front would seek its cooperation," said Manuel Briones, professor of international relations at Chile's Center for Strategic and Competitive Intelligence Studies.
The summit occurred at a sensitive geopolitical moment, just weeks before new tariffs to be imposed by the Trump administration are to take effect, impacting Chile, Brazil, European Union nations and many others worldwide.
"In Latin America, the summit reinforces the emergence of a regional leadership bloc with progressive leanings," Briones said.
"If the administration in the White House chooses a foreign policy more focused on "America First" and less on actively promoting certain democratic agendas through ideological alliances, this new front could pose a subtle challenge -- or at the very least, become an actor Washington will have to engage with from a different perspective."
Added Claudio Sánchez, a lawyer and scholar at Chile's Center for Labor Studies: "It's expected that there will be differences in approaches to economic, social and foreign policy, but the progressive governments at the summit generally advocate for a larger role for the state in the economy, more expansive social policies and a more critical stance toward corporate power -- positions that may contrast with certain political sectors in the United States.
"However, this doesn't necessarily imply confrontation, but rather a search for dialogue and cooperation in areas of shared interest, while maintaining ideological differences where they exist."
Leaders at the summit announced that countries including Mexico, the United Kingdom and Canada plan to join the emerging alliance.