| Foro Madrid | |
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| Formation | 26 October 2020 |
|---|---|
| Type | Anti-communist organization |
| Purpose | Ibero-American network ofright-wing political parties and organisations |
| Headquarters | Madrid, Spain |
Region served | Ibero-America |
| Website | foromadrid |
| Part ofa series on |
| Conservatism in Spain |
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TheMadrid Forum (Spanish:Foro Madrid) is ananti-communist organization created on 26 October 2020 by the Disenso Foundation,think tank of theconservative Spanish political partyVox.
According toThe Rio Times, the aim of the Madrid Forum, an anti-communistinternational organization with a "permanent structure and an annual action plan", is to be "an alternative" to the "two Latin American leftist platforms, theSão Paulo Forum and thePuebla Group.[1] The Sao Paulo Forum "comprises political and social forces, from the Brazilian Workers' Party to the Communist Party of Cuba"; the Puebla Group consists of "a handful of leftist politicians" includingAlberto Fernández,Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva,Evo Morales,Rafael Correa,Pepe Mujica, andJosé Luis Rodríguez Zapatero.[1]
TheMadrid Charter is themanifesto of the Madrid Forum; it gathered more than 8,000 signers from throughout the world, with prominent signers BrazilianEduardo Bolsonaro, PeruvianKeiko Fujimori and ChileanJose Antonio Kast.[1][2][3] TheCharter alerts that countries “hijacked by communist-inspired totalitarian regimes, supported by drug trafficking, under the umbrella of the Cuban regime" have advanced communism.[1]
Vox introduced the project to the government of then United States presidentDonald Trump while visiting the United States in February 2019, withSantiago Abascal using his good relations with the administration to build support within theRepublican Party and establish ties in America.[4][3] In March 2019, Abascal tweeted an image of himself wearing amorion similar to aconquistador. Spanish newspaperABC wrote that this event provided a narrative that "symbolizes in part theexpansionist mood of Vox and its ideology far from Spain".[5] On 3 March 2020, Abascal met withLuis Almagro, Secretary General of theOrganization of American States, to discuss the creation of the Madrid Forum.[6]
The Madrid Forum was to hold its first event inMadrid in June 2020; it was cancelled due to theCOVID-19 pandemic, with theMadrid Charter presented as an online document on 26 October 2020.[4][3]
TheMadrid Charter: In Defense of Freedom and Democracy in the Iberosphere (Spanish:Carta de Madrid: en defensa de la libertad y la democracia en la Iberosfera), also known as theLetter from Madrid, was a manifesto created on 26 October 2020 by the Disenso Foundation think tank of Vox. The document denounced left-wing organizations in Ibero-America, said these groups pose a threat toliberal democracy throughcommunism.[7]
With over 8,000 signatories,[1] including over 400 parliamentarians as of 2023,[8] the charter was also signed by conservative and some ultraconservative, and far-right politicians from the Americas and the Iberian Peninsula.[2][4][9] Chilean politicianJosé Antonio Kast, one of the document's signatories, proposed in October 2021 that the signatories of the Madrid Charter establish an International Anti-Radical Left Coordination, stating that "what is happening in Colombia is no coincidence. The model of the antisocial outbreak is repeated in Chile."[10]
In the document, signatories define two entities; the first is an allied Iberosphere of nations holding the same roots to the Iberian Peninsula and the second are left-wing groups, such as theSão Paulo Forum and the Puebla Group,[3] which the charter describes as an enemy and threat to freedom.[11][12][13] The letter condemns leftist groups as being under the influence of Cuba, stating that they are "under the umbrella of the Cuban regime", describes part of the region as being "kidnapped bytotalitarian communist-inspired regimes, supported bydrug trafficking", and says that leftist groups hold an "ideological agenda" to destabilize liberal governments.[3][14][15] The letter cites respect for therule of law,separation of powers, andprivate property.[5][15] It called for scholars, the media, and other groups to uphold the objectives of theMadrid Charter.[15]
Delegates of Vox travelled throughout Latin America to promote and obtain signatures for the manifesto, meeting with politicians in Ecuador, Mexico, and Peru.[9][16][17] While promoting the charter in Ecuador, Vox delegateHermann Tertsch said that signatures were necessary to counter "narcosocialism", arguing that "[a]ll Latin American countries are threatened by the same totalitarian project funded mainly by Venezuelan oil and drug trafficking", which Tertsch said was guided by Cuba.[16] At the meetings in Ecuador,Guillermo Lasso's recently-nominatedMinister of National Defense Fernando Donoso signed the document along with members of theSocial Christian Party andSUMA Party.[16]
In Mexico, the visit and signature collection event by Vox caused controversy whenNational Action Party (PAN) legislators signed the charter.[18][19] PAN politicians received criticism on social media that resulted with conflicts within the party.[18] Shortly after participating with Vox, PAN politicians distanced themselves from signing the manifesto,[19] while the party's official Twitter deleted an image of PAN members meeting with Vox representatives.[20] Due to Vox's controversial visit, discussions occurred of Mexico possibly enforcing Article 33 of theConstitution of Mexico, which grants the expulsion of foreign individuals for interfering in Mexican political affairs.Andrés Manuel López Obrador, the president of Mexico, declined this option by stating that "Mexico is a free country. I also say this so that if the gentleman of Vox, Abascal, wants to come again, he can do it. The doors of our country are open, they are always welcome. All foreigners, even if they are opponents."[21]
Peruvian investigative journalism websiteOjoPúblico wrote in an article discussing far-right alliances in the Americas that members of Vox travelled to Peru to obtain signatures, with the partiesGo on Country ofHernando de Soto,Popular Force ofKeiko Fujimori, andPopular Renewal ofRafael López Aliaga signing the document.[13][22][23] Peruvian business executives, including the owner ofWillax Televisión, also participated in discussions and signed the charter.[24] Additionally, Vox created ane-participation initiative in Peru to gather signatures from Peruvian citizens.[25]
The 1st Regional Meeting of Foro Madrid was held in Bogotá in February 2022.[29][30] At the meeting, a group of fiftyfar-left protesters gathered to denounce the Madrid Forum, some chanting "Bogotá will be the tomb of fascism", with some individuals damaging the exterior of the hotel where the event occurred.[30] Police dispersed the protesters and the forum accused leftist presidential candidateGustavo Petro of organizing the protests.[30][31] During the event, the forum emphasized the importance of the upcoming2022 Colombian presidential election and the2022 Brazilian general election, saying a threat of "narco-communist threat" loomed over Latin America.[31]
During the 2nd Regional Meeting of Foro Madrid was held in Lima in March 2023 and was virtually attended by Abascal, who described the Sao Paulo Forum and the Puebla Group as "criminal organizations".[32][33] The forum also called for the ousting of Petro, who became president of Colombia, stating that the2022 Colombian presidential election was fraudulent, and alleged that he was aligned with drug traffickers and that Russia interfered with social networks to support him.[34] Conservative Peruvian newspaperEl Comercio described the meeting as an event "with some radicalisms for the grandstand and no narrative that promises change from the right",[35] whileWayka described it as a "meeting of the fascist extreme right", and cited Elisabeth Dulanto Baquerizo de Miró Quesada of the family that ownsEl Comercio Group as one of the attenders; her company helped to host the meeting.[29]
The third meeting was held in September 2024 in Buenos Aires, featuring 40 speakers representing 15 countries with a theme to condemnNicolás Maduro and "support the Venezuelan people and condemn the lukewarm response of the international community, as well as to recover the spaces of freedom taken away by the criminal left and the non-left in the Western world".[36]
France 24 describes the Forum as "an alliance of right and far-right Spanish and Latin American lawmakers".[37] The Spanish newspaperEl País wrote: "Fundamentalists (Catholics and Evangelicals), neocons andultra-liberals, right-wing populists and those nostalgic for military dictatorships make up the anti-communist alliance that the Spanish party Vox is weaving in Latin America."[3]Página 12, aKirchnerist newspaper edited inBuenos Aires, described the initiative as a "cultural war" declared by Vox and "a conservative offensive on what democratic advances that had or have begun in Latin America at the beginning of this century".[13] Political scientist Kathy Zegarra of thePontifical Catholic University of Peru discussedKeiko Fujimori's participation with Vox's initiative. She said: "It's beneficial for the far-right public. However, it generates liabilities especially for those citizens who have more tolerant ideas; ... it is negative for those citizens who have more progressive values, who have values in favor of human rights."[17] Khemvirg Puente, a political scientist of theNational Autonomous University of Mexico, said that the participation of PAN politicians in the charter was a way for Mexican presidentAndrés Manuel López Obrador to confirm his rhetoric against the party and that this act moved the party to thefar right, making it unattractive to voters.[18] In Peru, prominent heads of businesses, especially in the mining industry, supported the Madrid Forum.[29]
