Sánchez and Boric exhibit progressive harmony and reduction of inequality against the extreme right

A wave of far-right sweeps through America and Europe. From Argentina to the Netherlands, from the US to Italy, with the upcoming European elections as a decisive moment, the rise of these positions seems evident. Two of the world leaders who represent precisely the opposite, that is, progressive governments that are trying to stop this wave in their respective countries, the Spanish Pedro Sánchez and the Chilean Gabriel Boric, gave this Friday in the symbolic Palacio de La Moneda, a place very special for progressives around the planet, an exhibition not only of political harmony, but of common recipes to confront that wave that is also finding many votes among the most popular classes, traditional voters of the left.

In a two-day visit by the Spaniard to Chile, which included an informal dinner at Boric’s house in the central Yungay neighborhood, where he cooked as a sign of their political and personal closeness, both leaders have proposed that the best way to fight against The extreme right are progressive policies to improve the lives of people, especially the poorest classes, and reduce inequality, as a way of convincing voters not to embrace the extreme right.

Boric pointed out that progressive sectors cannot stop at just denouncing what the extreme right thinks, but must respond with better public policies. Sánchez, who added Chile to his tour to Brazil, highlighted that the data on the social and economic policy that both Boric in Chile and he in Spain are achieving, in terms of reducing inequality, “demonstrate and prove that in effect the “Economic policies that link growth with wealth redistribution are the right ones to confront the evil that is inequality.” “The best response is to improve public policies,” Boric summarized. “There is a far-right international that is articulated and is advancing,” Sánchez insisted.

Previously, in an economic forum, the Spanish president highlighted the reduction of poverty in Chile from 10.7% to 6.5%, the lowest figure since records began. “We must vindicate these data,” he noted, adding that Spain is the large economy in the euro zone in which inequality has been reduced the most since 2017, also reaching historic lows. Boric also took the opportunity to highlight the improvement in the results of public education, the significant reduction in inflation, free health care in the public sector, and the approval of the comprehensive law against violence against women.

On International Women’s Day, Sánchez celebrated the date accompanied by a feminist president, and stated that the extreme right’s strategy is to attack basic consensuses built in recent decades. “Consensus and achievements that we thought were guaranteed are being called into question by governments of the extreme right or the right and the extreme right. They are not only in the area of gender equality, they also reach climate change and censorship in culture,” said the president. As an example, he mentioned the cases of Spanish city councils that are censoring theatrical and cultural works, “for the mere fact of defending equality between men and women.” “It may seem small, anecdotal, but I think it is absolutely unacceptable to put a foot on the wall and hold responsible not only the extreme right, but also those necessary partners who allow these things to happen in our country,” in reference to Vox and the Party. Popular.

One of the six memorandums of understanding that both leaders signed in La Moneda was on gender equality within the framework of the commemorative date. The others address the just ecological transition, democratic memory, Antarctic cooperation and cooperation in science and innovation. The harmony that Sánchez and Boric have displayed on environmental, gender and social matters has also been reinforced in their positions on foreign policy. Boric pointed out at the presidential palace that they advocate “that a ceasefire be imposed as soon as possible in Gaza, where we are seeing violent and unacceptable attacks on the civilian population by the Israeli Army that have generated thousands of victims.” Sánchez called for “consistency in respect for international law” in Ukraine and Gaza and stated that international humanitarian law “is clearly being damaged as a consequence of the Israeli government’s response” towards the population in Gaza.