Sheinbaum, Lula, Petro Head to Barcelona for GPM Summit

The initiative was originally Gabriel Boric’s idea. He is no longer in power. That fact alone captures the state of the Latin American left heading into Barcelona.

Sheinbaum announced during her Friday mañanera that she would attend the second edition of the “En Defensa de la Democracia” summit in Barcelona on April 18, describing it as a one-day trip: “We go one day and come back the next.” She said the decision was taken just the day before, after being invited to an initiative she had missed at its first edition during the UN General Assembly in September 2025, as reported by Proceso, Milenio, SDP Noticias, La Razón, and El Chamuco. The summit is formally organized under the Global Progressive Mobilisation (GPM), a platform co-sponsored by the Socialist International, the Party of European Socialists, and the Progressive Alliance, which aims to build permanent coordination among progressive governments worldwide.

Who Is in the Room

The confirmed attendance list reads like a roster of the global center-left’s remaining heads of state: Lula da Silva (Brazil), Gustavo Petro (Colombia), Yamandú Orsi (Uruguay), Pedro Sánchez (Spain), and European Council President António Costa. Former Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Löfven, now president of the PES, will also participate. Catalan media reported that Barcelona will host three separate summit events over April 17–18, bringing together progressive leaders from Europe, Latin America, and Africa. The formal agenda includes the defense of democratic institutions, the regulation of digital platforms and disinformation, the strengthening of multilateralism, and the fight against inequality. The informal agenda is more urgent: how to respond to Trump’s tariff war, the Iran-driven energy crisis, and the rightward shift across Latin America that has seen Milei in Argentina, Kast in Chile, Noboa in Ecuador, and Asfura in Honduras all win power since 2024.

Why Spain Matters

Sheinbaum’s visit is the first by a Mexican president to Spain since 2018. AMLO requested a formal Spanish apology for the conquest in 2019, froze bilateral relations in February 2022 after accusing Spanish energy companies of corruption against the Mexican state, and never visited. Sheinbaum’s decision to go—taken one day before the announcement, with a one-day turnaround—signals a deliberate thaw. Sánchez has positioned Spain as the EU’s bridge to Latin America, hosting previous coordination events and maintaining diplomatic channels during the AMLO freeze. For Sheinbaum, the trip also provides a foreign policy moment independent of the US relationship, which has been dominated by tariff threats, Pemex debt negotiations, and the Cuba oil supply dispute.

The Strategic Context

Each leader arrives in Barcelona carrying specific pressures. Petro is managing a trade war with Ecuador and a Mercosur accession bid with 164 days left in office. Lula faces an October election where inflation driven by the Hormuz crisis and a 14.75% Selic rate constrain his fiscal room. Sheinbaum is managing Pemex’s $13 billion debt wall and Trump’s tariff threats simultaneously. Orsi is governing a small, stable economy that provides credibility without power. The initiative was Gabriel Boric’s idea—but Boric lost to Kast in Chile’s 2025 election and is no longer in office. The progressive left in Latin America is not extinct: it governs approximately 340 million people across four countries. But Barcelona may feel more like a defensive coordination exercise than a display of strength. Whether the summit produces concrete policy alignment or remains a symbolic gathering of leaders whose shared ideology has not translated into shared results will determine its relevance. The practical test is simple: can they agree on a common position on the Iran war, US tariffs, and migration before they return home?

Related Coverage: Colombia Fires Back With 100% Tariffs on Ecuador • Trump Orders Hormuz Blockade After Iran Talks Collapse • Mexico Bets $21B on Pemex