Global Progressive Mobilisation/2026
The inaugural Global Progressive Mobilisation 2026 (GPM) was held in Barcelona, Spain on 17–18 April.
Contents
Own words
As the world faces critical turmoil, the Global Progressive Mobilisation (GPM) offers a necessary alternative to conservative and far-right forces. This platform aims to make progressive solutions visible and credible, proving they are the key to humanity's prosperity. By uniting regions and generations, we will defend democracy and advance social justice. That is why we will come together in Barcelona, Spain, on 17–18 April 2026 for the inaugural Global Progressive Mobilisation — to turn conviction into action and ambition into results.[1]
The conference was spearheaded by Spain's Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, whose (conveniently timed) opposition to U.S. President Trump's foreign policy has boosted his image.[2]
"To be progressive is to defend a reformed multilateralism, where the rules work for everyone,” said Brazilian president Lula da Silva, addressing a packed closing plenary of supporters waving red flags, sporting 'Make Science Great Again' caps.[2]
Criticism
WSWS pointed out that
It was not a gathering of opponents of austerity, repression and war, but of their administrators. It was not a mobilization against the far right, but a convention of the very parties and state functionaries whose policies have created the conditions for its advance. It was not a defense of democracy, but an exercise in political branding by representatives of governments that defend oligarchic wealth, fortify the repressive powers of the state and support imperialist violence all over the world. A very low bar has been set for what now passes as 'progressivism.' The term has been emptied of all serious content. It now embraces virtually every politician to the left of Attila the Trump.[3]
'Political Economist' observed that
I cannot say that everyone present is a fake progressive, or simply was never progressive at all, but the majority likely fall into one of these categories.
You may well ask: what is the purpose of all this? ... In essence the purpose is two-fold.
First, to give the illusion of counterweight to US hegemony. I have referred to this in previous articles as being a case of Sun Tzu's advice to 'pretend to be weak when you are strong'. If the extent of US hegemony becomes apparent, it would likely generate a backlash and counter-mobilisation. Events and organisations like these make the US seem less powerful than it is, while also giving the impression of counter-mobilisation. The presence of Clinton and some Democrat senators also reflects a desire to associate the US's excesses only with Trump.
The second purpose, to ensure that the space of counter-mobilisation is filled by US assets or proxies.[4]
Participants
Around 6000 activist participated. The list of speakers is on the right of this page,[5] and Alexander Soros who was in one of the photos of the event[6].
Funding
Who funds the tickets etc, is a bit unclear. The GPM is promoted by the political platforms of the Party of European Socialists (PES), the Socialist International (SI) and the Progressive Alliance (PA). The organizers are Socialist International, Progressive Alliance, Socialists & Democrats, Center for American Progress Action, and Foundation for European Progressive Studies. The website received financial support from the European Parliament.[7]
Sponsors ("In cooperation with") are Global Progressive Foundation, European Trade Union Confederation, Friedrich Ebert Foundation, Socialists' Party of Catalonia, Pablo Iglesias Foundation, Fundación Laboratorio de Ideas Avanza, European Council on Foreign Relations, and the PES Group in the European Committee of the Regions. The conference is hosted by PSOE.[7]
Sponsors
| Event | Description |
|---|---|
| European Council on Foreign Relations | Shares members with the Integrity Initiative's Spanish Cluster |
| Friedrich Ebert Foundation | A German for the National Endowment for Democracy, named as an "undesirable organization" in Russia. |
Known Participants
33 of the 308 participants already have pages here:
| Participant | Description |
|---|---|
| Reem Alabali-Radovan | WEF YGL German politician |
| Josep Borrell | Spanish Euro-politician in the forefront of a censorship drive. Attended his first Bilderberg in 2023 |
| José Manuel Albares Bueno | Spanish diplomat |
| Selin Sayek Böke | US born Turkish World Bank economist being groomed by the USA to high positions in Turkey. Attended the 2015 Bilderberg |
| Kevin Casas-Zamora | Costa Rican politician |
| António Costa | Bilderberger Prime Minister of Portugal 2015-24. Resigned after corruption probe, then promoted to President of the European Council. |
| Carlos Cuerpo | Spanish politician who attended Bilderberg/2024 as minister for the economy. |
| Tanja Fajon | Slovenian politician |
| Owen Jones | |
| Lars Klingbeil | German politician, MSC regular, first Bilderberg in 2025 |
| Albin Kurti | Anti Serbian, Pro Albanian Prime Minister of Kosovo. |
| David Lammy | English Labour Party politician, WEF/GLT/2002, publicly apologised for nominating Jeremy Corbyn Labour leader |
| Neal Lawson | Strategist for Tony Blair during the 1997 election, since then lobbyist and writer |
| Stefan Löfven | As Prime Minister of Sweden, managed the Covid-19 response. 2013 Bilderberg visitor |
| Susana Malcorra | Co-signed the Document:Uniting Behind A People’s Vaccine Against COVID-19 |
| Mariana Mazzucato | Economist who attended the 2018 Bilderberg meeting. A shill for Big Pharma, she also advocates climate lockdowns. |
| Mia Amor Mottley | Barbadian politician and lawyer who heads up the Global Leaders Group on Antimicrobial Resistance |
| Gustavo Petro | Became President of Colombia in June 2022 |
| Kati Piri | Hungarian/Dutch politician MSC YL, ECFR |
| Cyril Ramaphosa | President of South Africa |
| Maria Ressa | Founded the Philippine news website and "fact checker" Rappler. Author-in-Residence 2011-2012 at the "International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research". |
| Julissa Reynoso | 7th floor group |
| Guy Ryder | Director-General of the International Labour Organization |
| Daniel Sachs | Functionary for George Soros. |
| Abdulaziz Sager | Chairman and founder of the Gulf Research Center |
| Andreas Schieder | Double Bilderberger Austrian politician |
| Elly Schlein | "Rising star" of Italian politics with heavy deep state backing. |
| Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva | Brazilian president 2003-2010 who although out of office told Brazilians: "Get vaccinated, that's necessary." |
| Alexander Soros | The son of George Soros set to inherit his empire |
| José Ignacio Torreblanca | Spanish journalist, member of the Integrity Initiative. Director of the European Council on Foreign Relations Office in Madrid |
| Tim Walz | US Democrat politician |
| José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero | Attended the 2010 Bilderberg as Prime Minister of Spain |
| Gabriel Zucman | French economist who co-signed the Document:Uniting Behind A People’s Vaccine Against COVID-19 |
References
- ↑ https://globalprogressivemobilisation.org/en/about
- ↑ a b https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/global-leftists-rally-spain-hoping-spark-resurgence-against-far-right-2026-04-19/
- ↑ https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2026/04/21/adyd-a21.html
- ↑ https://politicaleconomist.substack.com/p/a-global-gathering-of-fake-progressives
- ↑ https://globalprogressivemobilisation.org/en/speakers
- ↑ https://www.flickr.com/photos/globalprogressivemobilisation/55214215179/in/album-72177720333164768
- ↑ a b https://globalprogressivemobilisation.org/en/about
