Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez (center) and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (right) at the close of the 'In Defense of Democracy' summit in Barcelona, Spain, on April 18, 2026. JOAN MONFORT/AP
It was not officially billed as an anti-Trump summit, but it certainly looked like one. On Saturday, April 18, Socialist Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez brought together a dozen heads of state and left-wing government representatives in Barcelona – including Brazilian President Lula, Colombian President Gustavo Petro and Mexican leader Claudia Sheinbaum – for a summit "in defense of democracy."
Lula was the most direct. "We cannot get up every morning or go to bed every night waiting for a tweet from a president threatening the world." Without naming Donald Trump, Lula added: "No president of any country in the world, no matter how great, has the right to continue imposing their rules on other countries. None."
The meeting, the fourth of its kind, was part of an initiative launched in 2024 by Brazil and Spain, with support from Colombia and Chile. Long in the making, it came at a timely moment for Sanchez, who has become one of Europe's most vocal critics of Trump. Fresh from a three-day visit to China, where he advocated for closer ties between Beijing and the European Union, Sanchez has increasingly assumed the lead in challenging Washington.
