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Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has accused Donald Trump, Elon Musk, Javier Milei and Jair Bolsonaro of belonging to the same international far-right movement, saying they want to turn Spain into a colony of tech oligarchs and vowing that Spain is governed from Madrid, not Washington.
"Milei, Trump, Bolsonaro, Orban — they all belong to the same international far-right movement, which, incidentally, is also financed by tech oligarchs like Elon Musk," Sanchez said in an interview on Monday night with Javier Ruiz on La Septima television. "Ultimately, what they all want is to turn Spain into their colony. We are not going to allow this country to become a colony of tech oligarchs or an international far-right movement acting against the interests of the Spanish people. I am very clear: Spain is a sovereign country. Spain will not be governed from any capital other than Madrid."
Sanchez has been making the same argument at campaign rallies ahead of Spain's snap general election on November 29. At a rally in Tarragona on Saturday, he told supporters: "On November 29, we will tell them with our votes that Spain is governed from Spain, not from Washington, not from Tel Aviv, not from Buenos Aires, not from Moscow. We will not allow our country to become the outpost or backyard of the international far right." He first delivered the line at the World in Progress forum in Barcelona on November 2, saying "Spain is governed from Spain, not from Washington. Not from Tel Aviv, of course, not from Moscow or Buenos Aires. That is the path Europe needs."
The remarks come after a turbulent year between Madrid and Washington. In March, Spain refused to let United States forces use the jointly operated bases at Rota and Moron for operations linked to the Iran war, and President Trump responded by threatening to cut off all trade with Spain. Sanchez has also refused Mr. Trump's demand that Spain dedicate 5 percent of its gross domestic product to military spending, and has accused the conservative Popular Party of normalising the far-right Vox party, which he says is aligned with Trump and Milei.
In the same interview, Sanchez said he expects turnout on November 29 to top 70 percent and dismissed the idea of a pact with the Popular Party's Alberto Nunez Feijoo to keep Vox out of government after the election as "science fiction." He also said he does not contemplate leaving politics if he loses.