The Foro de São Paulo (São Paulo Forum), a conference of left-wing parties and organisations from Latin America and the Caribbean, yesterday approved a declaration which condemns the "repressive drift" of the Spanish state and gives full support to the Catalan process. Foro members are currently in government in countries like Bolivia, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Mexico, Uruguay and Venezuela.
The declaration denounces the "repression and the violation of civil rights" currently being suffered by Catalonia and the "existence of political prisoners and the judicialisation of politics". "We express our concern over this repressive drift in the face of the expression of popular democratic movements and we denounce the constant refusals to democratic dialogue from the Spanish government and its legal offensive," they write.
The declaration also recognises Catalonia's right to decide on its future and condemns the actions of the Spanish executive. As such, the manifesto demands Pedro Sánchez's government "guarantee liberty and rights, recognise [the right of] self-determination and establish a democratic dialogue".