Pedro Sánchez continues his battle in international forums on two particularly relevant issues that reinforce his progressive profile: feminist policies and taxation of large fortunes and multinational corporations. In his first interventions at the UN headquarters in New York, shortly after arriving from Madrid to participate in the General Assembly, Sánchez has offered strong messages on these two issues that are also on the national political agenda. Sánchez has also focused on his feminist side, which puts him at odds with the far right, and has demanded that the next UN Secretary-General to succeed Portuguese António Guterres be a woman for the first time, and that from that moment on, a gender alternation rule be established in this organization for the position of maximum representativity.
Additionally, the Spanish president has proposed to his colleagues, during his intervention at the so-called Future Summit, prior to the general assembly, that the UN promote a “global minimum tax on large fortunes” to combat inequality on the planet and to implement what the OECD and the G20 have already approved, which is a minimum 15% tax on multinational corporations. This taxation issue is especially relevant for Sánchez in national politics, as it pits him against the barons of the PP in Spain, whom he accuses of lowering taxes for the wealthy while demanding more money from the state. Sánchez has also focused on climate change, another priority issue of his mandate. “We must fight against the climate emergency to leave a more habitable planet. It is a matter of pure intergenerational justice. We must create a financial architecture so that we do not have to choose between paying off debt or addressing climate change. My country has committed to mobilizing 1.350 billion euros annually in climate financing from next year.
The head of government has also outlined the main points of his speech in the UN these days, defending multilateralism and the role of the United Nations to stop wars in Ukraine and Gaza. He also advocates for a reform of the UN to give it more strength and have a decisive role in stopping conflicts like these. Spain is particularly interested in the success of the fourth International Conference on Financing for Development, to be held in June 2025 in Seville. “Spain wants to agree on concrete measures that allow us to mobilize all resources and policies to promote sustainable development. We have to optimize the use of Special Drawing Rights and their possible reallocation mechanisms. In this sense, fulfilling our commitment to channel up to 50% of the Special Drawing Rights received in 2021, Spain reached a pioneering agreement between the IMF and the World Bank, so that both institutions can use it for the Fund for Resilience and Sustainability in the fight against climate change,” explained the president.
The government of Spain also has its focus on controlling artificial intelligence so that it is used in a positive way. “We must work for a responsible development of artificial intelligence and other new technologies. That’s why Spain has created the world’s first agency to supervise artificial intelligence. And based on the value of that experience, we argue that the United Nations should play a key role in defining a global governance system for this technology,” concluded Sánchez.
