Ibero-American Summit in Madrid: Far-Right Leaders Attend, Leftists Absent

The XXX Ibero-American Summit in Madrid this Wednesday and Thursday will feature far-right leaders Javier Milei of Argentina and José Antonio Kast of Chile, while leftist leaders like Brazil's Lula da Silva, Mexico's Claudia Sheinbaum, and Venezuela's Delcy Rodríguez will be absent. No bilateral meeting is planned with Milei, who previously insulted Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, while Kast will meet King Felipe VI. Thirteen of 22 member countries will attend at head-of-state level, with Colombia, Ecuador, and El Salvador sending vice presidents, plus special guests including UN Secretary-General António Guterres. The summit marks the 30th edition, 35 years after the first in Mexico, and aims to relaunch the forum representing 700 million people. Expected outcomes include five consensus declarations covering disaster response, artificial intelligence cooperation, academic mobility, care policies, and a new cooperation strategy.