Leftist Leaders Gather In Chile With Democracy 'Under Threat'
They gathered under the motto "democracy always," against the backdrop of US President Donald Trump's expanding tariff war and America's worsening ties with several erstwhile allies.
"Today, in many parts of the world, democracy is under threat," Chilean President Gabriel Boric said as he opened the summit with counterparts Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva of Brazil, Gustavo Petro of Colombia, Uruguay's Yamandu Orsi and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez.
He blamed "disinformation, extremism of all kinds, the advance of hatred, corruption, the concentration of power and inequality."
Boric said the Santiago summit would discuss ways "to strengthen our democracies and multilateralism," with proposals to be presented at a UN General Assembly meeting in New York in September.
"Defending truth, defending science, and opposing deception... must also be part of our debate," said the Chilean leader.
The meeting came amid rising tensions between Trump and leftist leaders worldwide.
His current focus is on Brazil, where right-wing ally Jair Bolsonaro is on trial for allegedly plotting a coup against Lula.
The Brazilian president last week decried "unacceptable blackmail" after Trump threatened 50 percent tariffs in part over the trial, which the US leader labeled a "witch hunt."
Spain's Sanchez told Monday's meeting that: "Our societies face a real threat led by a coalition of interests between oligarchs and the far-right" -- a coalition of "hatred and lies that is advancing dangerously."
Lula, for his part, said the leaders present in Santiago agreed on "the need to regulate digital platforms and combat disinformation."
The topic is also at the heart of Brazil's ongoing clash with Trump's administration, which has targeted a judge who is involved in Bolsonaro's coup trial and has made a number of rulings against platforms and individuals spreading falsehoods on line.
Political analyst Michael Shifter of the Inter-American Dialogue think tank said meetings like the one in Santiago were useful for like-minded politicians to "discuss how to navigate an increasingly complex and turbulent world."
But he warned that Trump "may view the meeting as a hostile message to the United States."
Boric, for his part, warned against "extremism and authoritarianism" used to silence dissent and suppress debate.
"I also want to tell critics of this gathering that there is never a bad time to strengthen democracy, to reaffirm our convictions regarding multilateralism and the unwavering respect for human rights, always," he added.
Boric said he had invited Claudia Sheinbaum of Mexico, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Canada's Mark Carney to the meeting, but they were unable to attend.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Int'l Business Times
2 hours ago
- Int'l Business Times
Trump Opens Scottish Golf Course And Vows 'Peaceful World'
Donald Trump officially opened his new golf course in Scotland on Tuesday, ending a five-day trip during which the US president signed a major trade deal with the EU and gave Russia less than two weeks to end the Ukraine war. To the sound of bagpipes, secret agents and golfers criss-crossed the sprawling complex on the Aberdeenshire coast, waiting for the president to tee off. "We started with a beautiful piece of land, but we made it much more beautiful, and the area has ... really, really welcomed us," Trump said before cutting a red ribbon. "We'll play it very quickly, and then I go back to (Washington) DC and we put out fires all over the world," he added. "We have a world that's got some conflict, but we've ironed out a lot of it. We're gonna have a great and peaceful world." Trump's campaign song, the Village People's "YMCA", blared out after the ribbon cutting, as fireworks exploded in the background. The president then teed off with son Eric, who led the project. "This will be a tremendously successful place and a place where people can come and enjoy life," the US leader said, highlighting how his trip has again blurred the lines between his presidency and his business interests. "We wanted this to be the greatest 36 holes anywhere on Earth. And there's no question that that's been achieved," said Eric Trump. "This was his Mona Lisa," he said of his father's crafting of the course. "Sculpting the dunes, sculpting the land, that was always his painting," he added. Trump also held talks with Scotland's leader First Minister John Swinney discussing tariffs on Scottish whisky as well as the situation in Gaza. Then later Tuesday, Trump departed Scotland heading back to the United States. His new course in Scotland features the world's largest natural bunker, dunes and greens overlooking the sea, with a "focus on environmental sensitivity", said a press release. Visible out to sea were the offshore wind turbines that Trump unsuccessfully tried to block. The president again spoke out against wind power as he hosted European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen on Sunday and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Monday. It was one of the many issues Trump addressed during free-wheeling press conferences at his other golf complex in Turnberry, western Scotland where he played golf on Saturday and Sunday and juggled diplomacy. With Von der Leyen, he announced a trade agreement in which the EU resigned itself to 15 percent tariffs on goods entering the United States, a deal heavily criticised across the continent. At a press conference Monday with Starmer, Trump promised more aid for Gaza and gave Russian President Vladimir Putin a "10 or 12 day" ultimatum to cease hostilities in Ukraine. "I really felt it was going to end. But every time I think it's going to end he kills people," Trump said of the Russian leader. "I'm not so interested in talking (to him) anymore," he added. Trump also criticised London mayor Sadiq Khan at the press conference and waded back into UK politics on Tuesday when he took to his Truth Social platform to urge the government to cut taxes and incentivise oil drilling in the North Sea, denouncing wind turbines as "ugly monsters". "Incentivize the drillers, FAST. A VAST FORTUNE TO BE MADE for the UK, and far lower energy costs for the people," he wrote. A wind turbine is seen in the sea behind the Trump International Golf Links course in Balmedie, Aberdeenshire AFP US President Donald Trump cuts the ribbon on the first tee to officially open the Trump International Golf Links course in Balmedie, Aberdeenshire AFP Trump boards Air Force One at RAF Lossiemouth, north-east Scotland, heading back to the United States AFP
DW
3 hours ago
- DW
Ukraine: Zelenskyy to allow over-60s enlist in military – DW – 07/29/2025
Ukrainian officials say a Russian attack on a prison near Zaporizhzhia has killed 16 inmates, with Kyiv calling the strike a war crime. More were reported killed in other parts of Ukraine and Russia. Follow DW for more. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has signed a law allowing people over the age of 60 to voluntarily join the armed forces, which have struggled to find recruits since the Russian invasion started in February 2022. Meanwhile, a Russian attack has killed at least 16 inmates at a prison near Zaporizhzhia, Ukrainian officials have said, with at least 35 more injured in the overnight bombing. Eight strikes were reported as likely involving glide bombs, which also damaged nearby homes and left buildings inside the complex in ruins. The Ukrainian president's chief of staff condemned the attack as a war authorities said a jailed Colombian man started two fires in Poland on behalf of Russia last year. Poland has a close political and military relationship with Ukraine and strained relations with Russia. The 27-year-old man stands accused of setting fire to two material warehouses in Warsaw and Radom in 2024, a spokesman for the Interior Ministry in Warsaw said. The fires were quickly extinguished, and no one was injured in either case. The Colombian man had previously been trained by a person with links to Russian secret services, according to the Interior Ministry. The public prosecutor's office is now investigating the man for working for a foreign secret service and for terrorism. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a bill on Tuesday allowing citizens over 60 to voluntarily join the military while the country is under martial law. The new law allows people over 60 to sign one-year military service contracts if they pass a medical exam and receive approval from a unit commander. Each recruit will face a two-month trial period, during which the contract can be terminated early if they are found unfit. While the law sets no maximum age for service, all contracts will automatically end when martial law concludes. This measure expands Ukraine's recruitment pool by enabling older volunteers to serve in non-combat and specialized roles in Ukraine's ongoing manpower shortages. The Kremlin has acknowledged a new ultimatum from US President Donald Trump, who has shortened his deadline for Moscow to move toward a ceasefire in Ukraine or face additional sanctions. "We have taken note of President Trump's statement yesterday. The special military operation continues," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Tuesday during a press call, using Moscow's official term for the war. He added, "We remain committed to a peace process to resolve the conflict around Ukraine and to ensure our interests in the course of this settlement." Trump, speaking Monday in Britain, gave Russia 10 to 12 days to show progress toward ending the war, citing frustration with the lack of results. "There's no reason in waiting... We just don't see any progress being made," he said. The revised timeline accelerates a warning Trump issued on July 14, when he threatened new sanctions on Russia and countries purchasing its exports within 50 days — a deadline that would have expired in early September. Trump, who has spoken with President Vladimir Putin multiple times since returning to the White House in January, also said he is "not so interested in talking anymore." Missile and drone attacks have killed at least four people and wounded several others in Ukraine's central Dnipropetrovsk region, regional officials said Tuesday. A strike on the city of Kamyanske killed two people, injured five, and damaged a hospital, according to regional military head Serhiy Lysak. Another person was killed and several wounded in an attack on the Synelnykivsky district. In a separate strike on Velykomykhaylivska late Monday, a 75-year-old woman was killed and a 68-year-old man injured. A private home was also damaged, Lysak said. Russian shelling has killed five civilians and wounded three others in Ukraine's northeastern Kharkiv region, local police said Tuesday. "According to preliminary data, five civilians were killed and three more were wounded to varying degrees as a result of the shelling," police said in a Telegram post, noting that Russian forces likely used a multiple launch rocket system. The regional capital, also called Kharkiv, is Ukraine's second-largest city and serves as a major economic and cultural hub. Russia has hit Kharkiv with multiple strikes in recent months, including one that damaged a maternity ward in July. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that a Russian airstrike on a prison near Zaporizhzhia was "deliberate" and not accidental, calling for increased international pressure on Moscow to end its attacks. "It was a deliberate strike, intentional, not accidental," Zelenskyy said Tuesday in a social media statement. "The Russians could not have been unaware that they were targeting civilians in that facility." He added that Russia "must be compelled to stop the killing and make peace." A Ukrainian drone strike has killed one person in Russia's Rostov region, the area's acting governor, Yuri Sliusar, said Tuesday. Sliusar reported that the victim died after a car was hit on Ostrovsky Street. He said multiple locations were targeted in the overnight attack, including Salsk, Kamensk-Shakhtinsky, Volgodonsk, Bokovsky, Tarasovsky, and Slyusar. Debris also struck the Salsk train station, damaging both a freight and a passenger train. Passengers were evacuated, and no additional injuries were reported. Ukrainian officials say a Russian airstrike has killed at least 16 prisoners at a detention facility near the front-line city of Zaporizhzhia. Another 35 inmates were injured in the overnight attack, which also damaged multiple buildings within the complex, according to regional governor Ivan Fedorov. Federov said the area was struck eight times overnight, likely by Russian glide bombs, and nearby homes were also hit. The wounded were receiving medical care, he added. Glide bombs, launched from Russian aircraft over occupied territory, strike Ukrainian targets with little warning. Their speed and range make them difficult for Ukraine's air defenses to intercept while keeping the launch aircraft out of range. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, condemned the strikes as "another war crime" committed by Russian President Vladimir Putin's Kremlin. "Putin's regime, which also issues threats against the United States through some of its mouthpieces, must face economic and military blows that strip it of the capacity to wage war," Yermak said on X. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Welcome to DW's coverage of the latest developments in the Russian war on Ukraine. You join us after Russia carried out eight strikes on the Zaporizhzhia region, hitting a prison where at least 16 people were killed. The governor of Russia's Rostov region also said one person had been killed in a Ukrainian drone strike there. Stay with us for the latest news and analysis from the ongoing war.
DW
4 hours ago
- DW
Trump says New York shooting suspect was a 'crazed lunatic' – DW – 07/29/2025
US President Donald Trump said a shooting that killed four people in a New York skyscraper was "a senseless act of violence." Police are investigating possible grievances the suspect, who also died, had against the NFL. US President Donald Trump on Tuesday said a mass shooting that killed four people in New York was carried out by a "lunatic." According to police, the suspect, who shot dead four people before taking his own life, had a "documented mental health history." And Trump was keen to focus on that angle, as he posted on social media: "I trust our Law Enforcement Agencies to get to the bottom of why this crazed lunatic committed such a senseless act of violence." Trump said that he had been briefed on late Monday's incident that occurred in a Manhattan skyscraper. One of those killed was an off-duty police officer. Another person was seriously injured and in a critical condition. The US president did not mention gun laws in the United States, preferring to focus on the alleged gunman's condition. But New York Mayor Eric Adams did hone in on "how easy it is to gain access to a gun." "Gun violence has scarred so many neighbors and ripped apart too many families across this entire country," Adams said during a press briefing. The shooter was identified by police as 27-year-old Shane T. from Las Vegas, a once-promising American football player, who was reportedly carrying a note that referred to CTE — a form of brain damage from contact sports. The attack took place at the tower housing the headquarters of the National Football League (NFL). Mayor Adams suggested the gunman was targeting the NFL for long-held grievances related to his condition. "He seemed to have blamed the NFL," the mayor said in an interview with New York City station WPIX-TV. "The NFL headquarters was located in the building, and he mistakenly went up the wrong elevator bank." The NYPD officer killed in the shooting was identified as Didarul Islam, who was born in Bangladesh. "He died as he lived. A hero," Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said, before adding he was married with two young boys, and his wife is pregnant with their third child.
