Sánchez and Mamdani defend Spain’s social policies: ‘The powerful fear us’

Just as in Barcelona, where Pedro Sánchez was applauded by some of the few remaining progressive leaders on the planet, in New York, the Spanish prime minister received the support of one of the rising stars of the global left, the city’s mayor, Zohran Mamdami. A breakfast was held Wednesday at the New York mayor’s official residence with several progressive leaders — and Sánchez as the guest of honor — during which all the speakers championed Spain’s progressive policies.

Mamdani did so in particular, highlighting the increase in the minimum wage to the applause of the attendees. Sánchez explained that these policies, both in New York and in Spain, account for the backlash against them from certain economic sectors. “Spain is proving that another economic model is possible, and New York is proving that that same ambition can transform our cities. That is why the powerful fear us — because every day we show that there is another way forward, and that it works,” said Sánchez.

In the room, billionaire Alex Soros — son of George, one of the biggest supporters of progressives in the financial world and, precisely for that reason, a favorite target of the far right — listened and applauded. Sánchez greeted Soros, whom he has met on several occasions. Also present were Axel Kicillof, governor of Buenos Aires and likely rival to Javier Milei in the upcoming Argentine elections, and António Costa, president of the European Council.

Mamdani expressed his admiration for the 66% increase in Spain’s minimum wage over the past eight years. “Sánchez has sent a message: your work matters, your dignity matters,” said the mayor, after quoting García Lorca to argue that Sánchez, himself, and other leaders can now make the poet’s dream of “building a better world, taking the movement for equality and justice to more distant horizons” a reality — and even go beyond it.

The Spanish prime minister seized the opportunity presented by Mamdani — with whom he had met privately earlier — to defend all his policies and his government’s statistics as proof that liberal economists are wrong, because “it is possible to grow and remain competitive while raising the minimum wage and reducing inequality.”

“They told us that if you want growth, you have to accept inequality. That workers have to make sacrifices. That if you want to be competitive, you need low wages and poor public services. I never believed it. Spain has proven that it wasn’t true. We’ve raised the minimum wage by 66%. They told us it would destroy jobs, but we have more workers than ever. One out of every two jobs created in Europe is in Spain. They told us that clean energy would make us less competitive. Now we have 60% clean energy and the cheapest electricity. They always tell us that [these policies] won’t work. The reality is that they do work for ordinary people,” insisted Sánchez.

The Spanish prime minister also pointed out that, during the pandemic, his government — like others in Europe — did not opt for austerity, as it did during the 2008 financial crisis, but instead protected workers and vulnerable families and “put a halt to evictions.” He made this point on a day marked by a highly publicized incident: the eviction of María del Carmen Abascal, known as Maricarmen, an 87-year-old Madrid resident who was evicted after an eight-year battle against the investment fund that purchased the apartment where she had lived for more than 70 years and which refuses to negotiate. The government implemented an eviction protection program that remained in effect after the pandemic, but the latest decree to extend it failed this year because the Catalan pro-independence and populist party Junts, the main conservative opposition PP, and the far-right grouping Vox voted against it, and the government has been unable to secure a majority to reinstate it.

On the issue of immigration, Sánchez also argued that it “has made Spain strong — economically, socially, and culturally.” “Immigrants sustain our welfare state; migration has made us a better country — there’s no doubt about it. There are politicians trying to convince people that those who earn the least are to blame for everything. They want to make people look to the sides so they don’t look up,” concluded the prime minister, who received a round of applause when he spoke positively about an issue that particularly affects the U.S. under the administration of Donald Trump, who has made the anti-immigration message the cornerstone of his policy. Meanwhile, New York — Trump’s own city — has elected a mayor who was born in Uganda to an Indian family before settling in the U.S.

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