From left to right: Chilean president Gabriel Boric (photo from Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0 CL), Salvadoran president Nayib Bukele (photo from Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0), Colombian president Gustavo Petro (photo from Flickr, CC BY-NC 2.0), Brazilian president Luiz Lula da Silva (photo from World Economic Forum, Flickr, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0), Argentine president Javier Milei (photo from World Economic Forum, Flickr, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0). The background shows the General Assembly hall of the United Nations (photo from Patrick Gruban, Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0). Collage made by Global Voices.

On September 24, 2024, at the opening of the United Nations General Assembly, various leaders gathered to give speeches in front of the ambassadors. From Latin America, five countries stood out above the rest.

Argentina: Milei and the ‘Agenda of Freedom’

The Argentine president, Javier Milei arrived at the UN General Assembly with a disruptive speech. It sought to alert ambassadors and nation representatives of the dangers of “collectivist policies” promoted by the 2020–2030 Agenda for sustainable development.

On the one hand, the Argentine president praised the UN's past that allowed commercial integration; on the other, he denounced the organization for mutating into a “multi-tentacled Leviathan” that now sought to control the lives of people around the world. The Leviathan is a biblical monster, and the analogy that 17th century political thinker Thomas Hobbes uses to describe the existence of the state as an entity created to bring order to natural chaos.

While denouncing the 2020–2030 agenda as leftist and “woke,” Milei called for international dissent from the 2015 Sustainable Development Goals, and for support for his “Agenda of Freedom” in defense of freedom of expression, individual liberties, private property, and trade for all, and the limitation of the state. His speech ended with the phrase “Long live freedom, damn it!,” his slogan during his presidential candidacy. 

Eventually it was discovered that his speech was plagiarized from the American TV series “The West Wing.”

Brazil: Lula and his fight against climate change

Luiz Lula da Silva took to the podium, pointing out the increase in nuclear arsenals and arguing that these funds could have been used to combat hunger and climate change rather than for war purposes. Lula recounted the harsh experience of the floods in Rio Grande do Sul this year and urged countries to invest in Brazil and the “bio-economy program,” a Brazilian model that seeks to take advantage of advances in biotechnology and the country’s biodiversity to promote sustainable economic development. According to Lula, 90 percent of the energy produced in Brazil is renewable, from the use of biomass, solar energy, hydroelectric power and biofuels.

Lula also claimed that there were “false patriots” who seek to isolate their countries from the global scene, probably referring to Donald Trump and his isolationist approach to foreign policy. He also said that it was not the time to experiment with ultra-liberalism, making a clear reference to Javier Milei, with whom Lula has had a complicated relationship. The last part of his speech saw him raise the issue of inequality between developed and developing countries with regard to financial lending, which sees poor countries having higher interest rates.

Chile: Boric and the rejection of Hamas and of Israel

Chilean president Gabriel Boric spoke of how much the world has changed since the creation of the United Nations in 1945, and at the same time how little the Security Council has achieved in light of recent wars. Boric proposed a reform that would include Brazil as the spokesperson for Latin America, with India and a member country from Africa as new permanent members of the Security Council.

For Boric, the teenager killed by bombings in Gaza represents the same pain as the Ukrainian child kidnapped and taken to Russia, the Venezuelan migrant leaving Venezuela, and the woman forced to leave school in Afghanistan. He rejected the terrorist group Hamas, but at the same time denounced the Israeli security forces and the genocide they are perpetrating in Palestine.

Boric also seeks to promote a global tax on states and companies to mitigate the effects of climate change and disinformation on social media. He also reaffirmed his strong position regarding Nicolás Maduro, insisting Maduro rigged the election. However, at the same time he reminded Biden that unilateral economic sanctions affect Venezuelans economically more than their government.

Colombia: Petro and the fear of losing humanity

The words of Colombian President Gustavo Petro should have resonated with those attending the meeting. However, they did not. The Colombian president has repeatedly called on the international community to halt Israeli military operations in Gaza.

And, although in September, a resolution was passed by the General Assembly to stop the Israeli occupation of Palestine, the war continues to rage. The Colombian president said that the ending of wars will be the way to transform the economy, to limit the effects of climate change, and thus save humanity. The president compared Gaza to a symbol of humanity; losing Gaza is losing humanity.

In his speech, the president referred to the submission of governments to the “1 per cent minority” allowing censorship of the media. Likewise, President Petro denounced the double standards which see some right-wingers hide behind the defense of freedom while restricting it. Petro then jokingly repeated the catchphrase of the libertarian president of Argentina, “Long live freedom, damn it!,” in a clear reference to his predecessor on the podium.

El Salvador: Bukele jailed thousands to free millions

Salvadoran president Nayib Bukele came to the podium dressed in an outfit resembling that of a 19th-century military leader and sold a single idea: security.

The Salvadoran president's controversial security strategy of militarisation succeeded in bringing peace to El Salvador. Bukele says that, by imprisoning thousands of criminals, he's freed millions of Salvadorans who now walk the streets safely. Bukele defends the idea of freedom: freedom of expression, private property, and security, a nod to those investors and right-wing politicians.

His speech was short and forceful, inviting countries to invest in El Salvador and at the same time antagonizing them with comments about the loss of freedoms in certain countries on the continent. He mentioned the United States, where items have to be kept under lock and key for fear of theft and where the streets are full of homeless people.

He also highlighted countries that restrict freedom of expression by censoring social media accounts, perhaps referring to Lula da Silva, the Brazilian president who had a dispute with the owner of social network X: Elon Musk. Musk met and praised Bukele days before the conference.

In Latin America, two trends stand out in the region: a social progressivism that seeks a resolution to the problems of climate change and the bringing of peace to global conflicts, and a second trend that, in defense of (some) freedoms, must allow the world to take its course, prioritizing nations’ own individual development.