Zapatero predicts the decline of the far right in Portugal as it happened in Spain
“In Spain, the extreme right – it arrived first than in Portugal – is in decline and it will be the same here”, said Rodríguez Zapatero, guest speaker at the Next Left conference, inspired by the Portuguese Socialist Party, with the theme “They will not pass! The imperative of combating right-wing extremism”, which took place today in Lisbon.
The former head of the Spanish government said that the moment of inequalities that the far right has seized – growing first in the United States and then spreading, with the financial crisis of 2008 and later with the crisis of the pandemic – shows how populism and extremism followed with fear.
Referring to the former presidents of the United States and Brazil, he predicted that Donald Trump” and his distinguished student, [Jair] Bolsonaro, lost and will not return”, but underlined that it is necessary to “prevent and be attentive”.
He asked, therefore, that “the condition of a single humanity” be affirmed, opposing the identification of immigrants and defending the right to integration and universal rights, because it is with “equality, peace, coexistence, respect, words that are the principles of democracy” and even with “the fight for culture” it will be possible to “stop the extreme right”.
In a speech lasting more than half an hour, at the conference organized jointly with the European Foundation for Progressive Studies (FEPS) and the Karl-Renner Institute, Zapatero left three ideas for action, the first being “strengthen the unity of progressive organizations in the world , such as the Socialist International of Spain and Portugal”.
At this point, the also former leader of the Spanish Socialist Party (PSOE), wanted the realization of “a great summit” of the center-left parties and also defended that “it is necessary to dialogue with the center-right”, considering it “essential”. .
Zapatero considers that the use of social networks fragments the dialogue, which “should be face to face” and also defended that it is not advised “to let ourselves be carried away by the most conservative discourses”.
In the second idea that he left to an audience of a few hundred people, the former prime minister of Spain recalled that the crises — financial 2008, pandemic, climate change — are global and therefore it is necessary “to work as the Charter of the United Nations” when referring to “uniting all nations”.
“Europe cannot close itself off”, he said, because “if there is no cooperation, crises cannot be overcome”.
“Cooperation, cooperation and cooperation, not competition and confrontation”, he underlined.
Finally, Zapatero asked that more attention be paid to inequalities, where the extreme right would be strengthened, and that balance and “a fairer redistribution” be promoted.
“That depends on us, not on the extreme right”, he defended, recalling that what happened in the post-World War II era was this fairer redistribution and that “this was a time when democracy and socialism made the most progress”.