BARCELONA — Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez hosted the IV Meeting in Defense of Democracy at a convention center in Barcelona on Saturday, gathering progressive and traditional democratic leaders to discuss how to restore faith in the liberal order. Sánchez is hosting two overlapping events about democracy and progressive politics at the venue.

The meeting brought together Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and Colombian President Gustavo Petro, along with leaders or high-ranking officials from 10 other countries. British Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy also attended.

"We all see the attacks against the multilateral system, the repeated attempts to undermine international law and the dangerous normalization of the use of force," Sánchez said at the start of the meeting. He said the focus would be to find ways to reinforce the multilateral order by reforming the U.N., regulating social media to stop the spread of hate speech and disinformation, and combating growing economic inequality.

"We all share the vision that democracy is the best system to respond to the complexities of our societies," Sánchez said. According to organizers, the event was launched by Brazil, Spain and Chile in 2024 as a forum to exchange ideas aimed at combating the "extremism, polarization and misinformation" that undermines participatory democracy.

Lula da Silva and Sánchez have remained in office while defending multilateral agreements, human rights, environmental protections and gender equality. The Barcelona meeting marks the fourth convening of the forum since its launch the previous year.