The article discusses the controversy surrounding Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum's trip to Barcelona, which was not a state visit, and how it was transformed into a show of presidential warmth and accessibility. Edward Bernays, who invented public relations as a discipline, understood that people respond more to images than their arguments. He called it the "conscious and intelligent manipulation of organized habits and opinions" and believed that democracy and businesses require this kind of management. However, the article argues that good storytelling and good governance are not the same thing, and confusing the two has costs. The In Defense of Democracy summit was held separately for progressive political movements and a separate meeting for heads of state of Brazil, Colombia, Uruguay, Spain and the president of the European Union. Despite these efforts, the author acknowledges that the trip was not an anti-Trump meeting.