In April, many of the world’s progressive luminaries, including President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of Brazil, President Claudia Sheinbaum of Mexico and President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa, descended on Barcelona. Ostensibly, they were there to show their support for democracy and multilateralism against the threat posed by the far right. But you’d be forgiven for thinking the real purpose of their visit was to honor Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez. The West’s longest-serving center-left leader, he has recently become better known for something else: heading the global opposition to President Trump.

In contrast to the “don’t poke the bear” approach of most foreign leaders, Mr. Sánchez has boldly challenged the American president — condemning Mr. Trump’s removal of Nicolás Maduro from power and denying the United States use of military bases in Spain for the war in Iran. These stances were preceded by a string of confrontations with Washington. Last year, Mr. Sánchez was the sole NATO leader to oppose Mr. Trump’s demand for a large increase in military spending, faced down the threat of tariffs and took the lead in recognizing Palestinian statehood and calling the war in Gaza a genocide.

To Mr. Sánchez’s detractors, this turn as Mr. Trump’s nemesis is the latest manifestation of “Sanchismo,” a populist and unprincipled politics designed to retain power at any cost. But this pejorative moniker misses the mark. Across eight years in office, Mr. Sánchez has succeeded in making Spain the last social-democratic stronghold in Europe, surviving — even thriving — in a brutal environment for progressive politicians. He has accomplished this feat by mixing ambition, idealism and pragmatism, along with opposition to Mr. Trump. For left-leaning leaders of almost any stripe, it provides a blueprint to follow.

Not unlike Mr. Trump, Mr. Sánchez rose to power as an impatient disrupter. In 2017, he regained control of the Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party, driving his Peugeot 407 all over Spain to spread his anti-establishment message and connect with the party’s grass roots. The next year, he orchestrated the removal from office of Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy — whose conservative People’s Party was knee-deep in corruption scandals — through a no-confidence vote in the Congress of Deputies. Having successfully brought down a government for the first time in Spain’s post-Franco history, Mr. Sánchez emerged as the country’s leader.

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Once in office, Mr. Sánchez displayed remarkable audacity. In 2023, after calling a snap election, he struck a controversial deal with Catalan separatists. In exchange for their support, Mr. Sánchez offered amnesty for anyone linked to the illegal referendum on Catalan independence held in 2017, including those showing no remorse. Many in the judiciary opposed the deal, which caused a meltdown among conservatives and set off huge public protests. But the gamble paid off. Mr. Sánchez stayed in power, and after the amnesty deal was enshrined in law, support for Catalan independence receded significantly.

Such risk-taking has been in the service of an idealistic agenda that Mr. Sánchez calls progressivism that works. Between 2018 and 2025, he increased the minimum wage by 61 percent, as well as introduced labor reforms to reduce unemployment, curb short-term contracts, make it harder to fire workers, and protect women and L.G.B.T. Q. people from workplace discrimination. These policies, combined with higher taxes on the rich and generous support for workers during the pandemic, were the prelude to a triumphant relaunch of the Spanish economy. By 2024, The Economistwas heralding Spain as the world’s “best-performing rich economy.”

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Pedro Sánchez Is Donald Trump’s Nemesis, and He’s Winning

Opinion | Pedro Sánchez Is Showing How to Stand Up to Trump, and So Much More - The New York Times

Spain’s Leader Is Showing How to Stand Up to Trump, and So Much More

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