Progressive Leaders Defend Democracy in Barcelona

0:00It's April 18th. Welcome to Canada News Today, powered by AI. I'm Cory with the story. Progressive leaders from around the world met up in Barcelona this weekend at the fourth meeting in Defense of Democracy. Brazilian President Luis Inacio Lula de Silva, Mexico's Claudia Shimbam, South Africa's Cyril Ramaphosa, and Colombia's Gustavo Petro showed up. Along with reps from 10 other countries and Britain's Deputy Prime Minister David Lamy, the goal, public faith in the liberal order that's getting hit by far right shifts and global fights. Spain's Prime Minister, Pedro Sanchez, kicked things off, calling out attacks on the multilateral system, like ignoring international law and flexing. Military muscle too easy, no one named dropped Trump, but his go-it-alone vibe and trash talk on NATO and the UN loomed a large. They talked reinforcing the setup through UN reforms, reigning in social media hate and lies, and tackling economic gaps that fuel the mess.

1:01These gatherings highlight how democracies under fire from extremism, polarization, and fake news. Launched last year by Brazil, Spain, and Chile, it's a spot for swapping ideas on keeping things participatory and fair. Leaders like Lula and Sanchez stand strong as popular progressives, pushing human rights, environment, and equality, even as neighbors like Argentina's. Europe's far right pushback. The day before, Sanchez and Lula huddled at an old palace summit, stressing worries over Russia's Ukraine invasion, Israel's Gaza response to Hamas. And fresh Iran clashes, messing with oil and gas. Later Saturday, many stuck around for the kickoff of the global progressive mobilization, drawing 3,000 left-leaning officials and thinkers. To brainstorm, more. All this comes at a pivotal time when multilateral vibes feel shaky, but these voices are doubling down to stir us back towards shared rules and real. Talk on the world's big cracks.