This past week, Pedro Sánchez, President of the Government of Spain, came to speak to the Columbia University community about applying progressive political philosophy on pressing global issues.

On Monday, September 22, the World Leaders Forum and the European Institute co-sponsored a presentation featuring Pedro Sánchez, President of the Government of Spain titled “A Progressive Response to Current Global Challenges.” The first half of the event consisted of a short speech by President Sánchez on the state of progressivism and international cooperation, and the second half was a question and answer session moderated by Professor Adam Tooze, Director of Columbia University’s European Institute.

While Sánchez’s role as President began in 2018, his involvement in government and economic policy dates back to the early 1990s. He joined the Spanish Socialist Workers Party in 1993 of which he is now the Secretary General. He describes this experience as highly informative to his politics as President. In addition to his political roles, he used to be a lecturer of economics at the Universidad Camilo José Cela, where he received his PhD in 2012.

To explain how his leadership term impacted Spain’s global position, President Sánchez boldly declared Spain’s current economy as the “best it has been.” He credited a reduction in inequality through social protection systems, strengthened public education, a growth in real net income per household by almost 10%, and open economic policies for Spain’s growth. Alongside the nation’s economic success and affordability, he claimed that sustainability standards were rapidly improving as well. Currently, about 60% of Spain’s electricity is generated from renewable sources which has reduced energy prices by 50%, but this number is rising as technology improves. Sánchez touted these figures as evidence of Spain’s commitment to “intergenerational solidarity.”

Additionally, he acknowledged the importance of immigration on economic growth and a reduction in unemployment for Spain. Under his leadership, Spain has received over 2 million immigrants with the unemployment rate reduced by almost 40%, with migrants contributing an estimated 20% to Spain’s per capita income growth in the last three years. While he believed that openness is Spain’s “engine for knowledge creation,” he claimed that this was not to be confused with naivety and that the nation still needs to condemn unlawful immigration pathways. Regardless, Sánchez believes that recognizing individual humanity is the most important principle to uphold: “every migrant, legal or illegal, is a human being in search of a better life.”

Sánchez described his progressive philosophy as anchored by three major principles that are currently under fire: that an open economy is capable of leading to great economic growth, that international relations should be governed by rules and not brute force, and that open societies must protect individual rights and freedoms. While the United States was historically instrumental in defining these principles, recent policies in the US and other nations have begun to stray from them, according to Sánchez. It is necessary that cooperative governments, like that of Spain, commit to upholding these principles amidst global turbulence.

On the point of international trade, Sánchez positioned himself as a staunch defender of an open economy, citing its ability to allow Spain to take advantage of foreign investments while ensuring autonomy in critical sectors. In his view, being economically progressive is a matter of responsible pragmatism, meaning that the success of free trade policies is largely unmatched by other economic approaches. 

On the need to uphold a rule-based international order, the President spoke about the European Union’s almost unanimous condemnation of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. In addition to verbal condemnation, most countries followed up with tangible actions: approving economic sanctions and providing relief to victims. If the EU was so quick to act in this particular situation, what “double standard” was stopping them from condemning the murder of over 60,000 Palestinians by the Israeli government?

“If we have learned anything from the 20th century,” said Sanchez, “it is that perpetuating genocide is one of the greatest crimes of humanity, and looking the other way is completely unforgiveable.” While the government of Spain recognizes Israel’s right to exist and defend itself against the acts of Hamas on October 7, and calls for an “immediate release of all hostages,” it classifies the killing of 60,000 civilians, the bombing of hospitals, and the displacing of over two million Palestinians as “quite another thing.”

In addition to witnessing one of the “darkest and most terrible events of the 20th century,” the President is worried at the precedent that the international community is setting for future conflict and the new world order. It seems to him that international relations are increasingly based on short term tactical interests rather than respect for long term values and principles, and said that international cooperation is necessary in turbulent global times. He called on the European Union to band together in this cause. As Israel’s largest trading partner, recent efforts have been made by the European Commission to propose trade sanctions.

However, critics argue that the ability of Spain or the EU to make much tangible difference is limited. On instating EU-wide trade sanctions, measures like these struggle to gain widespread support to ongoing disagreement on the best course of action from countries like Germany due to the country’s “special responsibility” for Israel, according to Reuters. And individual actions, like Spain’s recently pledged permanent ban on the sale of ammunition to Israel, are unlikely to change the course of the war. While international order must be established, according to President Sánchez, it may be unclear which steps will have the most impact.

The third, and in Sánchez’s opinion, most important principle necessary for modern governments to uphold is the protection of individual rights. He described an individual’s “right to participate in government life” not as a privilege, but as an essential safeguard against tyranny. According to him, societies can only thrive under “true democratic governance” with free speech and open dialogue. These measures are necessary to ensure distribution of power and prevent discrimination.

Following the President’s initial speech, Professor Tooze began the open-ended interview portion by asking Sánchez about his attraction to the Spanish socialist party, especially considering that the term “socialist” may at times have a negative or at least controversial connotation. President Sánchez responded by comparing the healthcare budgets of Spain and the United States; while Spain spends about 6-7% of its GDP on healthcare, the US spends about 17%. In his view, this statistic demonstrates the issue of forming a public good into a private business—it becomes a poor financial deal for society. More broadly, a progressive political philosophy on an international level, would allow for working class interests to be better represented, according to Sánchez.

To wrap up the discussion, Tooze posed a much broader question—how should Spain and Europe more broadly position itself against global challenges of the 21st century, including the war in Gaza, artificial intelligence, and climate change? On the question of approaching international conflict, President Sánchez outlined the need for a two-state solution beyond the demand for an immediate ceasefire. In his view, “no other alternative makes sense.” From the perspective of the international community, he believed it necessary that Palestinians are provided with a long-term solution, claiming that this would be a focus of discussion in the upcoming UN General Assembly meetings. 

On the questions of tackling technological and environmental instability, President Sánchez first established the need to understand the interconnected nature of these issues; climate change and artificial intelligence will have broader impacts on human rights, global health, and political order. Similar to how the United Nations holds COP panels to address pressing environmental developments, artificial intelligence will have two key bodies to manage the complex impact of technological change. Within the Spanish government itself, each department has scientific advisory groups where experts can give vision to all policies throughout the decision making process, meant to give voice to concerns about sustainability.

On the whole, President Sánchez concluded, a pragmatic approach to solving issues of science and international relations is more effective than simply an ideological approach. The dilemma in moving forward is balancing present interests with those of future generations. This struggle lies in the hands of younger generations and particularly college students; their support is necessary for progressive voices to gain momentum.

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