Latin American Leftists Plan Progressive Alliance Ahead of Trump’s Return

The far-left presidents of Colombia, Brazil, Chile, and Mexico on Monday vowed to strengthen the Latin American “progressive bloc” ahead of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration on January 20.

The four leftist presidents – Colombia’s Gustavo Petro, Brazil’s Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Mexico’s Claudia Sheinbaum, and Chile’s Gabriel Boric – made the joint announcement after meeting on the sidelines of this year’s annual G20 summit, hosted by Brazil in the city of Rio de Janeiro on Monday and Tuesday.

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In addition to strengthening the ties of the leftist-led countries in the region, the bloc reportedly seeks to promote joint initiatives and policies. The four leftist presidents agreed to meet again before January 20, 2025, in “preparation” for President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration.

Colombian far-left President Gustavo Petro, the group’s apparent main proponent, asserted, “We speak as equals with Latin America, and nothing is imposed,” stressing the group’s commitment to “social prosperity, the fight against hunger and the promotion of clean energy.”

“Uniting Latin America in pursuit of its dignity. We talk face to face with Latin America, and nothing is imposed,” Petro wrote on social media with a picture of the group. “We talk about social prosperity, against hunger, and for clean energy. We can build the pact of the Americas, based on equality and dignity.”

“Today more than ever: Unity,” Petro declared in a separate post. Lula, Sheinbaum, and Boric also shared the photo of their meeting on their respective Twitter accounts.

Colombian Foreign Minister Luis Murillo told reporters Monday that the four leftist presidents’ Monday meeting sought to strengthen coordination among the “progressive countries,” emphasizing that these four nations share common values and objectives.

According to Murillo, the presidents’ agenda prioritized regional and global development and addressed issues such as migration.

“The only way to avoid disorderly and unsafe migration is to invest in our countries. It was also proposed to improve infrastructure and combat the criminal networks that affect the region,” Murillo said.

The Colombian minister confirmed that Petro, Lula, Sheinbaum, and Boric will hold another yet-to-be scheduled meeting where other regional heads of state will be invited to participate. 

“Other countries will be invited to share specific aspects of this agenda, while the foreign ministers will work on a technical and operational agenda to nurture the presidential discussions,” Murillo explained.

Monday’s announcement of a strengthened “progressive bloc” comes roughly one week after Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele and Costa Rican President Rodrigo Chaves announced their intention to create a group of like-minded smaller nations aiming to cooperate in security, economy, and other areas.

Chaves said the group, given the tentative but not-final name of “League of Nations,” will seek to formulate joint policy proposals for the rest of the world and to address with the incoming Trump administration.

The joint announcement of a “strengthened” and unified Latin American leftist bloc also comes weeks after the socialist regime in Venezuela threatened Colombia and Brazil — two of its neighbors and closest allies — due to Petro’s and Lula’s refusals to recognize dictator Nicolás Maduro as the “winner” of Venezuela’s fraudulent July 28 presidential election.

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The strained relationship between Venezuela and its two neighbors threatened the “unity” of the so-called “pink tide,” a mainstream media title given to a series of leftist electoral victories in the region during 2022.

Notably, Latin America’s three communist dictatorships – Venezuela, Cuba, and Nicaragua – were apparently not invited to join the first meeting of the “progressive bloc.”

Christian K. Caruzo is a Venezuelan writer and documents life under socialism. You can follow him on Twitter here.