The members of the Madrid Forum, an international alliance of conservative parties, leaders and organizations, right and far-right organizations of Spain and Ibero-America, said today that their goal is to win the seven general elections planned in Latin America for this year and next, as they proclaimed at the closing of the meeting held yesterday and today in Asunción.
Participants in the IV Regional Meeting of the Madrid Forum, inaugurated this Thursday by Paraguayan President Santiago Peña, assured that conservative and ultra-conservative options have a great opportunity to win the elections that will take place between now and the end of 2026.
“For the first time in many decades there is a real possibility of opening a new era of freedom and prosperity with the defeat of socialism in the region and throughout the West,” said the project coordinator of Foro Madrid, Edmaly Maucó, when reading the declaration approved at the end of the meeting held this Thursday and Friday in Asunción.
This year there will be general elections in August in Bolivia, and in Honduras and Chile in November, while in 2026 elections will be held in Costa Rica, Colombia, Peru and Brazil.
According to the final declaration of the meeting, the countries of the region have suffered “in their own flesh the ravages” of left-wing governments, and “have understood that socialism corrupts societies, destroys the economy, destroys freedoms.”
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“From Asunción we send to the entire region and the world a message of optimism and hope: the triumph of freedoms, democracy and the rule of law in Ibero-America is possible and is within the reach of all our peoples,” says the text.
They also announced that they will continue to “denounce and strengthen the political struggle” against what they considered “dictators of Bolivia, Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela, as well as against all those who support them.”
The Madrid Forum is promoted by the Disenso Foundation, the laboratory of ideas of the Spanish far-right party Vox, whose leader, Santiago Abascal, participated yesterday, Thursday, in the opening of the meeting, together with the president of Paraguay, Santiago Peña.
The director of Foro Madrid, Eduardo Cader, said this Friday that the right-wing forces can return to power unless, according to him, “the left resorts to fraud” or the disqualifications of the adversary candidacies.
“Every choice will be a battle, and every victory will require courage, strategy and, above all, unity,” he emphasized.
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Cader charged against what he called “soft right”, to which he attributed the claim of “managing what the left built”, avoiding conflict and not offering resistance.
The forum praised the figures of Argentine President Javier Milei; Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.
MEPs of the right-wing group ‘Patriots for Europe’ participating in the meeting questioned the role of the European Commission, chaired by Ursula von der Leyen, which they called a “mega-state” that makes decisions on issues such as immigration, placing itself, in their opinion, above the will of European countries.
Hungarian MEP Enikó Gyóri said that “there is clearly a turn to the right in Europe” and stressed that in the last elections to the European Parliament, held on June 9 last year, the far-right parties reached approximately 22% of the vote, which is equivalent to about forty million people.
Those voters are “those who think that the European Union would have to be as the founding fathers founded it, and not this new Europe that wants to exist above the nations, dictating things that perhaps they do not even want to do,” said the Hungarian MEP.
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Also MEP Jorge Martín Frías, director of the Dissenso foundation, said that everyone supports the European Union, but criticizes the role of the European Commission, he considered that “it has made a misrepresentation and has distanced itself from the initial European project”.
The members of the Madrid Forum, which has also been held in Bogotá (2022), Lima (2023) and Buenos Aires (2024), promised to intensify “political cooperation to achieve electoral victories,” with special emphasis on “the seven electoral appointments that are coming”, to – as they said – “reach a continent free of socialism.”
Ex-Pemex director linked to Odebrecht scandal detained in Texas, faces trial in Mexico
Carlos Treviño Medina, former director of Mexico’s state-owned oil company Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex) between 2017 and 2018—during the final year of President Enrique Peña Nieto’s administration—has been detained in the United States and will be deported to Mexico to face corruption charges, President Claudia Sheinbaum said Thursday.
“He was detained in the U.S., an ex-director of Pemex who was already on alert lists. He will be deported and will face trial here in Mexico for corruption-related matters,” Sheinbaum told reporters during her morning press conference.
Shortly after, Sheinbaum confirmed that the detainee is Treviño Medina, who is accused of receiving bribes in connection with the Odebrecht scandal, “among other things.” She added: “We should ask the Attorney General’s Office exactly what the charges are. What I can say is that it is related to a complaint filed by Emilio Lozoya,” a former Pemex official also implicated in the Odebrecht corruption case.
Later in the day, Mexico’s Attorney General’s Office (FGR) stated in a press release that Treviño Medina was arrested on August 12 in Dallas, Texas, by agents of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which currently holds him in custody while deportation proceedings move forward.
The FGR noted that Treviño Medina is subject to an active arrest warrant in Mexico on charges of criminal association and money laundering.
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Meanwhile, the U.S. government said that ICE detained Treviño Medina for overstaying his visa by nearly three years.
Residente to perform free concert at Mexico City’s Zócalo on september 6
Mexico City’s head of government, Clara Brugada, announced on Saturday that Puerto Rican musician Residente will perform a free concert at the capital’s Zócalo on September 6.
“I have great news for you! On Saturday, September 6, at 8:00 p.m., Residente will perform. It’s a song to freedom and Latin American resistance,” Brugada said in a video posted on X.
According to the Mexico City Ministry of Culture, Residente will take the stage “with lyrics loaded with social messages and rhythms that have marked generations.” The singer, who has already held free concerts at the Zócalo, also shared the announcement on his social media, emphasizing the historic significance of the venue.
“I don’t take this for granted, I know where I’m performing—it’s a special place (…) It’s where the flag of a free Mexico was first woven, and that’s what I want for my own country as well. (…) I don’t know how much longer I’ll keep performing, but what I do know is that I want to enjoy this day to the fullest with all of you,” he wrote on Instagram.
With over 20 years of career, René Pérez Joglar—better known as Residente—is recognized as a rapper, songwriter, and music producer, as well as the co-founder and lead vocalist of the group Calle 13. His lyrics have long stood out for their political and social content.
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The Zócalo show will open with a performance by the female collective Mujer en Cypher, featuring Arianna Puello, Ximbo, Niña Dios, Prania Esponda, Azuki, and Mena, according to the Ministry of Culture.
Trump and Putin end Alaska summit without Ukraine peace agreement
U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin wrapped up their summit in Alaska on Friday with a brief joint press conference, during which they announced no agreement on peace in Ukraine.
Trump described the more than three-hour meeting with Putin and his delegation at Elmendorf-Richardson base as “extremely productive,” but admitted, “we have not reached the goal.”
“Many points were agreed upon. Only a few remain unresolved. Some are not significant. One is probably the most significant, but we have a good chance of resolving them. We haven’t gotten there yet, but we have a good chance of achieving it,” Trump stated cryptically at the no-questions press conference.
According to White House officials, the summit began around 11:30 a.m. local time (7:30 p.m. GMT).
Trump was joined by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and special envoy for the Middle East and Kremlin mediator Steve Witkoff. On Putin’s side, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Kremlin foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov were in attendance.
