Spain: manifesto of support for Pedro Sánchez | Lula, Alberto Fernández, Olaf Scholtz, Michelle Bachelet and Sergio Ramírez signed

2023-07-23 03:15:22

The president of Brazil, Lula da Silva, heads a list of rulers, former rulers, scientists, intellectuals and social leaders who have signed a manifesto expressing their support for the socialist Pedro Sánchez, who is seeking re-election in the legislative elections that take place this Sunday in Spain.

The manifesto was also signed by Argentine President Alberto Fernández, German Chancellor Olof Scholtz, Portuguese Prime Minister António Costa and former Chilean President Michelle Bachelet, among others.

“The rise of denialist narratives of climate change and science, hostile to diversity as a value to be protected or that question the progress of the feminist movement, puts consolidated rights and freedoms at risk in many societies. They can also hinder and prevent their expansion to other parts of the planet, where they are so necessary to build more just societies and reduce intolerable levels of poverty,” the manifesto says.

In these turbulent years, the governments of Pedro Sánchez have responded to the challenges experienced with policies based on social justice. And they have shown that it is possible to boost economic growth and job creation without weakening the welfare state or sacrificing the rights of the working class or the protection of the environment. With these policies, Spain has not only set itself up as an example of progressive management in the face of serious crises. It has also contributed to the construction of a fairer global order of peace and progress to eradicate this global disease called inequality,” the text continues.

“For this reason, the undersigned, express our support for the candidacy of Pedro Sánchez as the option that can add a majority of progress that gives continuity to the reforms and transformations that have made Spain a world reference in rights, freedoms and prosperity,” he concludes.

Also signed are Mette Frederiksen, Prime Minister of Denmark; Olaf Scholz, Robert Abela, Prime Minister of Malta; Paulette Lenert, Deputy Prime Minister of Luxembourg; Tanja Fajon, Deputy Prime Minister of Slovenia; Cecilia Nicolini, Secretary of State for Climate Change of Argentina; Elio Di Rupo, former Prime Minister of Belgium; Enrico Letta, former Prime Minister of Italy; Ernesto Samper, former President of Colombia; George Papandreou, former Prime Minister of Greece and former president of the Socialist International; Gordon Brown, former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom; Magdalena Andersson, Leader of the Social Democratic Party and former Prime Minister of Sweden; Stefan Löfven, President of the PES and former Prime Minister of Sweden; Jacques Delors, President of the European Commission between 1985 and 1995; Anne Hidalgo, Mayor of Paris; Martine Aubry, Mayor of Lille and First Secretary of the French Socialist Party from 2008 to 2012; Roberto Gualtieri, mayor of Rome, among others.