IV Iberosphere Summit: 'Work until the region is free of socialism'
Zoé Valdés, Cuban exile; Eduardo Cader, president of Foro Madrid; Karina Mariani, senior editor of VOZ; and Inez Stepman, senior analyst at the Independent Women’s Forum, led the second panel of the forum focused on reversing the leftist tide.
Panel II of the IV Iberosphere Summit.
“Cuba is the head of the hydra... the first thing that must be cut off is Cuba,” said Zoé Valdés, Cuban writer and activist. Speaking at the IV Iberosphere Summit, she stated that the “international communist social network” began spreading from the island—one she was forced to leave three decades ago.
Nicaragua, Colombia, Venezuela, Syria, Iran... The “network” has spread across distant regions. So much so that, according to the dissident, “everything” that happens in those countries is “carefully coordinated” from Havana. As a recent example she mentioned the case of Zohran Mamdani, who appears on track to win the New York Democratic primary. Valdés says it’s easy to dig a little and uncover “that gentleman’s ties to Cuba.”
Karina Mariani, senior editor of VOZ and a speaker at the summit’s second panel, agrees: Cuba is at the top. But she pointed out that what’s truly remarkable isn’t the attacks on Western culture—“those attacks have always existed”—but rather “the response we gave to those attacks.” According to her, there were “few firewalls.” “We fell asleep, and that’s why they got so far.”
That is why she highlighted the work of groups such as the Iberosphere Summit: "It is what should have been done a lot of years ago". A similar idea to that expressed by the panel's moderator and director of the Madrid Forum, Eduardo Cader, who, with a sign, admitted "we are late".
Far from despairing, he pointed out that there are seven elections coming up in the next two years—like the one in Colombia—that “could change the entire region.” These are opportunities to keep working “until the region is free from socialism, which has caused us so much harm.”
The panelists highlighted two examples: Donald Trump and Javier Milei. Regarding Trump, Inez Stepman, senior analyst at the Independent Women’s Forum and the panel’s fourth and final speaker, praised the Republican’s fierce challenge to institutions that claim neutrality but actually serve as a cover to advance leftist agendas.
“They masquerade,” he says, “as NGOs, as universities.” But Trump “often calls out (and humiliates) these institutions for what they really are.” “The specifics may vary from country to country,” he acknowledges, “but everywhere—including the United States—the key is to start reclaiming once-prestigious institutions, either by reforming them or, when necessary, dismantling them.”
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Keeping an eye on culture
Valdés insists that socialism no longer “penetrates” through secret agents—“that’s over”—but rather through writers and a loss of religion and culture. She says she is living proof of this truth, adding provocatively that “the island produced great thinkers, but also great sons of bitches.”
“There’s a way to twist ideas and turn them into their exact opposite,” Mariani adds. He points to “the antics” of inclusive language as an example: “The ‘todes, todas, todos’ approach failed because it was imposed from the top... They came up with words that can’t be pronounced or even said,” like “les pibis,” a term he says was used by an Argentine official.
The key? “Start calling things by their real names,” Mariani said. “Don’t call feminism what it isn’t, or equality what it isn’t, or environmentalism what it isn’t.” When he spoke again, Valdés added another important point: “Get together... and create large think tanks” across Europe and America.
Media and social networking highlights
- Inez Stepman, senior analyst at the Independent Women's Forum: "The real power of traditional media was not to spread their leftist perspective." Americans, she says, always knew their press tended toward the left. Their power was to define what issues were talked about. That's why, he says, "the alternative media can't be merely reactionary," because that way the traditional media continue to set the agenda. They must go out to find and impose their own topics.
- Karina Mariani, senior editor of VOZ, gave the example of Argentine President Javier Milei. She explained that Milei didn’t “allow himself to be controlled” by the “widespread guilt taught to all of us over the years,” which legitimizes “anyone who plays the victim.” In short, this is what she calls “political correctness.” Social media helped spread Milei’s message freely, but just as important was his boldness—speaking out without falling into “victimhood” or accepting labels like “you’re imperialist” or “you’re racist.”
- Zoé Valdés, Cuban writer and exile, spoke as a voice for “her fellow countrymen who think.” She criticized efforts to shut down Voice of America, saying journalists should be judged individually. Like Mariani, she praised Milei’s role in leading “the cultural battle” during his campaign.
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