Pedro Sánchez and the leaders of Chile, Brazil, Uruguay and Colombia approve a declaration in defence of democracy

​Santiago de Chile (Chile)

The President of Uruguay, Yamandú Orsi; the President of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva; the President of Chile, Gabriel Boric; the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, and the President of Colombia, Gustavo Petro. (Pool Moncloa/Borja Puig de la Bellacasa)

The President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, has taken part in the High-Level Meeting "Democracy Always" convened by the President of Chile, Gabriel Boric, and which was also attended by the President of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the President of Uruguay, Yamandú Orsi, and the President of Colombia, Gustavo Petro. As a result of this meeting, the leaders approved a political declaration that sets out the need to promote a renewed multilateralism, reform the system of international governance, strengthen active democratic diplomacy, and promote an alternative narrative to democratic regression.

The declaration notes a period of "profound global uncertainty" in which democratic values are "permanently challenged". In response to this, the text proposes effectively incorporating citizens in decision-making, renewing the UN's capacity for action and legitimacy in the face of major global challenges, fostering cooperation between states that share democratic values as a response to institutional deterioration and the advance of authoritarian projects, and promoting tools to help confront hate speech, disinformation and intolerance.

Concrete proposals

During the meeting, the five leaders discussed three central themes: the defence of democracy and multilateralism, disinformation and digital technologies, and extremism and inequality. In this regard, the presidents approved a set of concrete proposals for action, which include the promotion of an international network of democratic think tanks to consolidate proposals in defence of democracy, international cooperation for algorithmic transparency and data management in the digital environment, technical cooperation for democratic digital governance, and the follow-up of the Seville Commitment, approved during the recent International Conference on Financing for Development held in the Andalusian city.

It will also promote the consolidation of a network of countries and civil society that promote participatory mechanisms to build a more open democracy, strengthen the global initiative of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) for the Integrity of Information on Climate Change, work to form a coalition to promote the establishment of progressive taxation, and promote a Multilateral Observatory on Youth against Extremism.

The meeting, which follows up on the one organised by Presidents Sanchez and Lula in 2024 in the margins of the UN High-Level Week to discuss threats to democracy, will be followed up by another meeting to be held at the next UN High-Level Week in September in New York. The president also announced that Spain will host the next summit for the defence and deepening of democracy in 2026.

Defending democracy, a "moral duty"

After the meeting, Pedro Sánchez stressed that the five leaders have "the shared conviction that it is time to take a step forward to actively defend and deepen our democracy". The president stated that in the face of the "internationalisation of hatred and lies that is advancing dangerously in Europe, Latin America and throughout the world", leaders have a "moral duty" to preserve democracy. "It is a responsibility we owe to past and future generations," he concluded.

He stressed that Spain has proposed promoting democratic digital governance and international collaboration "so that algorithms do not manipulate our opinions or weaken social cohesion", underlining the importance of reducing social, environmental and economic inequality, because in it "the far right finds the breeding ground for spreading the virus of extremism and polarisation".