Latin America Rising > Argentina opens protected areas to mining; Peru floats billion dollar bond for updating Callao Naval port

Argentina approves Glacier Law reform, opens protected areas to mining

By Mar Puig

   

A demonstrator faces off with police officers during a protest against Glacier Law reform near Congress in Buenos Aires on Wednesday. Photo by Juan Ignacio Roncoroni/EPA

April 9 (UPI) -- Argentina's Chamber of Deputies approved Thursday a reform of the Glacier Law that loosens environmental protections and allows new mining and hydrocarbon activities in previously restricted areas, the Office of the President of Argentina said.

With 137 votes in favor, 111 against and 3 abstentions, the initiative received final approval after a debate marked by tensions between those promoting investment to boost the economy and those warning of environmental risks.

The reform previously passed the Senate.

Argentina had been among the countries with the most restrictive glacier protection frameworks in the region under the previous law, enacted in 2010 during the administration of Cristina Fernández de Kirchner.

That legislation established broad protection over glaciers and periglacial zones, considered strategic freshwater reserves, and prohibited extractive activities and any intervention that could affect their natural function.

The new policy was promoted by the ruling La Libertad Avanza party of President Javier Milei.

The reform introduces selective glacier protection, limited to those considered essential for water supply. It eliminates the automatic protection of periglacial zones, which will now depend on specific technical studies, and allows mining and hydrocarbon development in previously restricted areas, subject to environmental impact assessments.

It also grants greater authority to provincial governments, which will be able to define which areas to protect and which to open, and reduces the role of the scientific system, as the National Glacier Inventory will no longer be binding and oversight will rest primarily with provincial authorities.

"This modification seeks to clarify concepts and strengthen the balance between environmental protection and development," ruling party lawmaker Nicolás Mayoraz said during the debate.

Opposition sectors warn that the changes could weaken environmental standards and create uneven criteria across jurisdictions.

Opposition lawmaker Sabrina Selva described the reform as "regressive" and warned it will generate interjurisdictional conflicts.

"This law is unconstitutional and will bring disputes between provinces," she said.

Environmental organizations such as Greenpeace, the Environment and Natural Resources Foundation and the Argentine Association of Environmental Lawyers announced they will file a joint suit to halt implementation.

"This reform puts access to water and ecosystems that depend on glaciers at risk," they said in a statement.

The debate focused on the role of glaciers as freshwater reserves in a country where water distribution is uneven. According to data cited by fact-checking site Chequeado, about 70% of Argentina's territory has arid or semi-arid conditions.

In addition to environmental groups, opposition leaders also criticized the reform.

Opposition Sen. Eduardo "Wado" de Pedro warned that "more than 7 million Argentines depend on glaciers and Andean snow as their main source of drinking water" and said the change "puts strategic resources at risk without guaranteeing benefits for the country."

De Pedro said the debate "is not only environmental, but also about sovereignty," and he argued that water protection is linked to regional development and the stability of provinces.

Data from the National Glacier Inventory of the Argentine Institute of Nivology, Glaciology and Environmental Sciences indicate there are about 17,000 ice bodies covering less than 0.25% of the continental territory, while mining activity is allowed in most of the country outside those protected areas.

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Peru to issue sovereign bonds for naval base project backed by U.S.

By Macarena Hermosilla

   

The Spanish Navy training ship Juan Sebastian Elcano, carrying Spanish Crown Princess Leonor, arrives in the port of El Callao in Peru in April 2025. File Photo by John Reyes/EPA

April 9 (UPI) -- Peru's government approved issuing sovereign bonds worth up to about $1.2 billion to finance expansion and modernization of its main naval base in Callao, according to an official decree published Thursday.

The project, to be carried out by the Ministry of Defense, is seen as a key step to strengthen Peru's operational capacity and expand its maritime commercial activity in the Pacific.

The military infrastructure upgrade is supported by a recent approval from the U.S. Department of State for sale of equipment and services valued at $1.5 billion for this phase of the project.

Washington will provide design, equipment and construction services to ensure the infrastructure meets international interoperability standards.

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The U.S.-approved financing will be channeled through the Foreign Military Sales program, with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers serving as the main contractor.

The U.S. Department of State notified Congress about the plan, noting that the initiative will strengthen a strategic ally in South America and support Washington's foreign policy objectives, CNN Chile reported.

The new base aims to modernize the operational capabilities of the Peruvian Navy amid growing trade in the Pacific. Plans include submarine berths and new command buildings for strategic control of the South Pacific.

The expansion will also include new docks and is expected to free up 198 acres for commercial development at the Port of Callao.

The proximity between the naval base and the Chancay megaport, developed with Chinese capital, has sparked debate, placing two global powers within less than 50 miles along Peru's central coast, according to Infobae.

Previously, the United States warned that Peru could be losing sovereignty after a court ruling that limits state oversight of the Chancay port, operated by COSCO Shipping, describing the situation as a "regional warning."

The infrastructure will remain under exclusive Peruvian ownership, though up to 20 U.S. experts are expected to be present for up to 10 years to oversee construction and technical cooperation.

According to the decree, the sovereign bonds will be issued in local currency, with semiannual interest payments and placement through market auctions. The securities will be freely tradable and may be issued in one or more tranches during the execution of the project.

Peru's Ministry of Economy and Finance is to execute the operation, while payments of principal, interest and related costs will be covered through national budget allocations for public debt servicing.

Latin America Rising > Chile elects far-right President, 8 other countries leaning to the right

 

Latin America shifts right in 2025 and aligns with Trump

By Francisca Orellana

   

A newspaper announced the results of the presidential elections in Santiago, Chile, on Monday. 

The far-right Jose Antonio Kast won the second round of the presidential elections a day earlier. 

Photo by Adrianna Thomasa/EPA

Dec. 17 (UPI) -- Latin America's political shift toward conservative governments was reinforced this week when Chileans elected far-right politician Jose Antonio Kast for the 2026-2030 term. It was the largest vote total ever recorded in a presidential election there.

Chile's result strengthened a regional trend that is reshaping domestic political balances and points to closer political and economic alignment with the United States.

Chile became the latest country in the region to deliver an electoral swing by handing victory to the opposition and rejecting the ruling coalition's candidate backed by President Gabriel Boric, a leftist.

The outcome reflects a new regional political map marked by the erosion of progressive projects and the advance of right-wing alternatives, many of them campaigning on hardline positions on security, economic policy and governance.

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With Chile, nine Latin American countries are now governed by right-leaning presidents. In 2025, Bolivia joined the group with the election of Rodrigo Paz, while Honduras awaits an electoral decision between two conservative candidates.

The bloc also includes Santiago Pena in Paraguay, Daniel Noboa in Ecuador, Javier Milei in Argentina, Luis Abinader in the Dominican Republic, Jose Raul Mulino in Panama and Nayib Bukele in El Salvador, who was re-elected in 2024 and has emerged as one of the region's most prominent conservative leaders.

"Latin America is indeed shifting to the right, although this is a pendulum movement," political analyst Roberto Munita told UPI. "We saw something similar when Argentina elected Macri, Chile elected Sebastian Pinera and a series of right-wing presidents took office in Colombia and Brazil under Bolsonaro. That was followed by a shift to the left."

Munita said the current wave of conservative leaders shows significant internal differences.

"Milei's Argentina is far more populist than what a Kast government would likely be," he said. "Noboa and Bukele have been much more controversial and less respectful of political institutions. At the same time, some presidents are more conservative, while others are more liberal. So while there are shared elements, there are also important differences."

International analyst Pablo Lacoste, an academic at the Institute for Advanced Studies at the University of Santiago, told UPI that these leaders came to power in response to deep fiscal deficits, high inflation, stalled economic activity and widespread social discontent.

"In the cases of Bolivia and Argentina, the leadership of the MAS and Kirchnerism left both countries in poverty, creating a demand for change driven more by the weaknesses of outgoing governments than by the political strength of the new projects," Lacoste said. "They were largely the result of protest votes. That is a shared characteristic, which Honduras could also join."

Lacoste also pointed to a strong link between the election of these leaders and rising irregular migration and a regional deterioration in security conditions.

"What all Latin American countries have in common is the impact of Venezuela's humanitarian crisis, which has forced about 8 million Venezuelans to leave the country," he said.

He added that most of those migrants settled in neighboring countries that "were not prepared to absorb a migration wave of this magnitude."

While many migrants have gradually integrated into host countries, Lacoste said the negative side has been the spread of organized crime, drug trafficking and rising insecurity.

"Maduro has sent the Tren de Aragua and extremely dangerous criminals, which has had an impact on crime rates and the perception of insecurity, particularly in Chile, Peru and Colombia," Lacoste said.

He added that the situation has put those countries' security structures under severe strain.

In response, more conservative political forces have offered answers to public concerns. "In many cases, progressive governments have lacked the cultural tools to respond adequately," Lacoste said.

Political analyst Roberto Munita said the conservative shift is also tied to a growing anti-communist sentiment and opposition to the so-called woke agenda.

"Eventually, a change in direction will become evident, because what distinguishes right-wing governments is a tougher stance on migration, security and the fight against organized crime," Munita said.

The shift is also reshaping Latin America's relationship with the United States.

"It opens an interesting door, especially for the agenda of Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who has always kept an eye on Latin America," Munita said.

Lacoste added that the shift "creates an opportunity for the United States to build a close relationship and a strong alliance."

"After Sept. 11, 2001, the United States largely forgot about Latin America and shifted its focus to the Middle East," he said. "Now, under Trump and his proposal to place greater emphasis on domestic issues, we see the United States moving away from the Middle East and Europe and placing more emphasis on the Americas."

Lacoste highlighted the support provided by the U.S. Treasury to the government of Argentine President Javier Milei.

"It helped prevent a currency run that threatened the government in late September," he said. "Trump's support was decisive in allowing Milei to win the October election and he is using it as a demonstration effect. The message is that those who align with his political approach can receive help, and that message is aimed at all other countries."

Analysts expect the trend to reach other countries, including Colombia, which is to hold presidential elections in May. Munita said it is likely the country will also move toward the new regional political map.

"Colombia has historically had more right-wing governments than left-wing ones," he said. "President Petro has been widely criticized, making it difficult for his political coalition to retain power."

Lacoste agreed with the assessment.

"Colombia's government has been politically close to Maduro, and it is now paying the cost of that position," he said. "As a result, its chances in the upcoming elections appear increasingly complicated."

Peru and Brazil face a different scenario ahead of their presidential elections in April and October, respectively.

"Bolsonaro has aged poorly politically and does not have a clearly positioned successor," Munita said. "By contrast, Lula appears to be at his strongest. Peru is highly volatile.

"The country's main challenge is ensuring that its leaders complete their terms. Voters are likely to favor a serious and responsible leader, even if that person is not ideologically close to them."

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Latin America rising > Far right in shape to win election in Chile; Brazil strengthens ties with BRICS countries

 

Chilean far right looms large in election dominated by worsening crime

AMERICAS

Voting opened Sunday in Chile's presidential and parliamentary elections that pit the government's communist former labour minister against a far-right candidate who has threatened mass deportations. The presidential poll will likely go to a run-off in December, as polls suggest no candidate will clear the first-round 50 percent threshold to win outright.

Issued on: 16/11/2025 - 10:18Modified: 16/11/2025 - 12:15

4 minReading time

By:

FRANCE 24

Video by:

Simon MORITZ

Chileans go to the polls Sunday in presidential and parliamentary elections dominated by rising crime and immigration. Far-right candidate Jose Antonio Kast, who has threatened Donald Trump-style mass deportations, is predicted to trail in the first round of voting Sunday before likely emerging victorious in the December run-off.

A sharp increase in murders, kidnappings and extortion over the past decade has damaged Chile's reputation as of Latin America's safest nations.

Outgoing centre-left President Gabriel Boric, who is barred from seeking a second consecutive term, has made some strides in fighting crime.

Under his watch, the murder rate has fallen 10 percent since 2022 to 6 per 100,000 people, slightly above that of the United States.

Polls show the main left-wing candidate, Jeannette Jara, a 51-year-old communist and former labour minister running on behalf of a broad coalition, winning Sunday's first round of voting.

But Kast is tipped to surge to first place in December's run-off.

"We need someone who shows an iron fist," Jacqueline Ruz, a 56-year-old Kast supporter, told AFP at his final rally this week in Santiago.

"Third time lucky!" Kast, the ultraconservative candidate and father of nine who first ran for president in 2017 and was runner-up in 2021, assured the crowd.

Building walls

Despite the recent decline in the murder rate, Chileans remain transfixed by the growing violence of criminals, which they blame on the arrival of gangs from Venezuela and other Latin American countries.

Kast, whose father was a German soldier in Hitler's Nazi army, has vowed to end illegal migration by building walls, fences and trenches along Chile's desert border with Bolivia, the main crossing point for arrivals from poorer countries to the north.

Ahead of the election, he issued 337,000 undocumented migrants with an ultimatum to sell up and self-deport, or be thrown out and lose everything if he wins power.

Former YouTube polemicist Johannes Kaiser, who has outflanked Kast on the right, was closing in on the poll leaders in the final days of campaigning.

The 49-year-old libertarian MP, who has been compared to Argentina's Javier Milei for his plans to radically downsize the state, campaigned as an outsider who shoots from the hip on crime, communism and family values.

Faced with a race to the right, conservative ex-minister Evelyn Matthei, 72, struggled to make her mark.

A surge of new voters

The country recently reintroduced mandatory voting after ending the practice in 2012. Voter registration is now automatic, so the millions of people who never bothered to register, even when voting was compulsory, will be casting their first ballots in a presidential race. Those who fail to do so face fines up to $100.

Analysts are divided over the potential effects.

“It’s a huge question,” said Robert Funk, an associate professor of political science at the University of Chile. “We have 4 million new voters. Who are they? Are they young people who like Jara? Are they people from marginal neighborhoods attracted to Kast's hard-line stance on crime?”

The country has 15.7 million eligible voters, of whom over 800,000 are immigrants with residency of five years or more and are exempt from mandatory voting. Polls show that foreigners overwhelmingly favour the right – especially Venezuelans who fled authoritarian socialist Nicolas Maduro's government. 

But some immigrants have qualms this time about supporting a candidate who vows to round up and deport their compatriots.

“I would vote for Kast, but it hurts to hear speeches like that,” said Juan Pablo Sanchez, a delivery app worker who migrated from Venezuela six years ago. “I don't know what to do.”

Bellwether for the left

The vote is seen as a litmus test for the future of South America's varied left, which has suffered defeats in Argentina and Bolivia and faces a stiff challenge in Colombian and Brazilian elections next year.

Guillaume Long, a senior fellow at the US Center for Economic Policy and Research, said a win for the far right "would have a big impact on Latin American politics".

"I think you would see Chile playing a very aggressive role internationally, probably in close alliance with both Milei and Trump," he told AFP.

Jara faces an uphill battle to overcome strong anti-communist sentiment and disappointment in the outgoing Boric administration.

Former student leader Boric defeated Kast in 2021 on a promise to establish a welfare state after mass demonstrations in 2019 over inequality.

But his presidency was fatally weakened after voters massively rejected a progressive new constitution months after his inauguration.

Pinochet's shadow

Kast would be the first far-right leader since the 1973-1990 military dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet if elected.

The ultraconservative has repeatedly defended Pinochet, who toppled a democratically elected socialist president in 1973 and oversaw a regime that killed thousands of dissidents.

Jara, 51, is the only working-class candidate among the frontrunners.

She joined the Communist Party at the age of 14 but has campaigned as a moderate with a track record of reforms, including reducing the working week from 45 hours to 40 and raising the minimum wage.

She has pledged to ensure that "every Chilean family can easily make it to the end of the month".

"Bread is very expensive, sugar is expensive, tea is expensive, fruit is expensive. So we have to vote for her!" said 76-year-old Mireya Ortiz, who cleans offices to supplement her meagre pension.

Voting is compulsory for the first time since 2012, adding nearly 5 million people to the electorate.

Besides choosing a new president, voters will also elect members to the Chamber of Deputies and half of the Senate.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP and AP)

Expert: Brazil firms ties with China, Russia; reduces reliance on U.S.

By Mar Puig

   

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva wants to assert a more independent global rolem a Latin American expert says. Photo by Antonio Lacerda/EPA

Nov. 13 (UPI) -- Brazil is deepening political and economic ties with China and Russia to reduce its dependence on the United States -- a strategy driven by new U.S. tariffs and President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's goal of asserting a more independent global role.

That's according to analyst R. Evan Ellis, a research professor of Latin American Studies at the U.S. Army War College Strategic Studies Institute. Brazil is pursuing "the most left-leaning foreign policy it has had in decades," marked by cooperation with powers that challenge U.S. influence in the region.

Ellis identified three main pillars behind this shift: growing military and technological cooperation with China and Russia, energy diplomacy that reduces the presence of U.S. companies, and a stronger alignment with multilateral forums such as the BRICS group, which seek to reshape the international order.

"Brazil's willingness to diversify its security partnerships beyond Washington shows a deliberate intent to gain autonomy," Ellis told UPI.

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The diplomatic shift follows Washington's decision in July to raise tariffs on certain Brazilian goods by up to 50%, citing national security concerns.

Brazil denounced the measure as "unjustified" and reaffirmed its right to diversify trade partners to safeguard its interests.

China -- already Brazil's top trading partner -- doubled its direct investment in the country in 2024, reaching $4.2 billion in energy, infrastructure and telecommunications projects, according to the Brazil-China Business Council's annual report.

Companies such as State Grid, Huawei, and Xiaomi now hold dominant positions in key sectors, from power transmission to the smartphone market.

Brazil's Agriculture Ministry reported that agribusiness exports reached $15 billion in April, with China accounting for 36% of total sales.

"Diversifying markets reduces risks and strengthens Brazil's position as a global supplier," the ministry said in a statement.

For Ellis, this pursuit of "strategic autonomy" does not imply a break with Washington but rather a gradual rebalancing of power. "If Brazil continues to hedge toward Beijing and Moscow, the U.S. will face shrinking tools of leverage," he warned.

The scholar noted that he does not foresee an immediate loss of U.S. influence, but rather the emergence of a solid counterweight.

"For now, I don't see a reduction of U.S. leverage, but rather a strong counterbalance," he said. "Brazil represents half of South America's territory, population and GDP, has larger armed forces than the rest of the continent, and maintains historical ties with Africa and the BRICS countries.

"That could open new economic and military gateways for Russia, China, and Iran in the region -- and offer Latin American governments alternative political and economic paths to the United States."

Ellis added that Brazil's leadership could consolidate "even against its own will," due to its size, global connections and the broader context of U.S. policy.

Brazil has also expanded trade with Russia -- mainly in fertilizers and fuel -- and with Iran, with which it is negotiating local-currency transactions.

Ellis said he expects regional governments to maintain pragmatic relations with Brazil despite lingering tensions.

"Mercosur countries will continue to see Brazil as a key partner, though historical mistrust remains, particularly in Paraguay and Uruguay," he said. "Argentina keeps its traditional political rivalry, and Latin America operates like a 'club' where everyone speaks politely, even when tensions persist behind the scenes."

The analyst cautioned that some conservative sectors, especially within Brazil's armed forces, "view the Workers' Party's leftist project and its ties with China, Russia and Iran with concern."

Still, he said Lula is unlikely to fully align with authoritarian regimes such as Venezuela or Nicaragua, keeping Brazil in an ambiguous, but increasingly influential position.

"In the end, we'll see a clearer division in the region regarding cooperation with the U.S. versus engagement with China -- though it will remain hidden under the façade of Latin American unity," Ellis said.

What began as a pragmatic push for economic independence, he said, has evolved into a geopolitical realignment with hemispheric implications.