Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez accuses Silicon Valley tech leaders of eroding democratic principles.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has urged a counteraction against the expanding influence of American tech billionaires, whom he characterized as a Silicon Valley “caste.” This statement followed Donald Trump’s inauguration as the 47th U.S. president.
Elon Musk (X), Mark Zuckerberg (Meta), and Jeff Bezos (Amazon) were seated in the front row at Trump’s inauguration ceremony on Monday.
© Julia Demaree Nikhinson – Pool/Getty Images
In response, Sánchez called for Europe to “rebel.”
“To put it simply: democracy isn’t one euro, one vote, nor one tweet, one vote. It’s one person, one vote. Europe will confront this threat. Europe will defend democracy,” Sánchez declared at the HispanIA 2040 event in Madrid on Monday.
Sánchez specifically criticized Silicon Valley’s role in shaping public opinion and its information monopoly. He accused the U.S. “tech caste” of “attempting to leverage its absolute control over social media to manipulate public discourse and consequently, governmental actions throughout the West.”
While Sánchez didn’t name names, numerous media outlets interpreted his remarks as targeting Elon Musk, the owner of X, a close ally of President Trump who heavily funded his election campaign.
Monday’s comments weren’t Sánchez’s first critique of Musk’s influence. Earlier this month, he described the “world’s richest man” as leading an “international reactionary” movement that “foments hatred.”
Elon Musk recently faced European criticism for targeting UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, while simultaneously endorsing Germany’s far-right AfD party in next month’s election.
However, some argue that Sánchez’s targeting of Trump and his allies is a strategic move to portray himself as a global leader against populism, a distraction from domestic scandals. The Sánchez government faces multiple corruption allegations and accusations of undermining democratic norms.