Hello, followers of The Latin American Report. I have been absent these past few days trying to make a bit more progress on my doctoral thesis--the committee demands a first version, even if it's very preliminary, by the end of this month--, and, on top of that, keeping up with my duties as a course coordinator at my university. Truthfully, in a way I was also taking some "vacations" from this usually daily effort, to refresh and perhaps return with more strength and thus get back into the swing of things. This project has brought me many joys, and even though monetary support has decreased significantly, I wish to sustain it over time without diminishing but rather increasing its level and usefulness as much as possible in my current situation. Once again, I thank you for accompanying me on this adventure.
Argentina
The Argentine political scene remains very tense after the Chamber of Deputies rejected two presidential vetoes. Based on an unyielding defense of his fiscal policy, the head of the Pink House has vetoed everything presented to him regarding salary increases or spending, even in key areas like health and higher education, which are covered by the two pieces of legislation the "lower chamber" recently debated. This dynamic speaks volumes about the muscle that a conceited Milei has lost in the legislative power, where he never had enough of his own votes. Incidentally, it also doesn't send an encouraging signal for La Libertad Avanza ahead of the national legislative elections in October, a second key referendum on the president's management after the harsh blow he suffered in the legislative elections in the critical province of Buenos Aires.
I think Milei has always had a good argument about the need to fix the public accounts, and it's no less true that great social sacrifices are needed for a country to grow sound. There has surely been a lot of mismanagement of university funds in the (recent) past, for example, and accountability hasn't been as stringent as it should be. But many see that the policy of cuts must have certain limits; there are things to negotiate. Yes, there may be politicians gaining electoral profit from poverty, but poverty is there and there are people who cannot wait for that hypothetical organic growth promised by the ultra-conservative. I always shared the idea that at some point blaming everything bad on Kirchnerism would lose strength, so the libertarian clan would begin to be evaluated in its role as societal director, based on the current state of the economy.
EFE reports that tens of thousands demonstrated in various locations across the country to celebrate what happened at the National Congress building, whose upper chamber now has the final say regarding the fate of the vetoed laws. "When public education is vetoed, a situation is created where only private education exists and then only those who have money can access it. A division is created in the country," a potential architect studying at the very disputed University of Buenos Aires told the Spanish agency. Besides the economic issue, Mileista rhetoric, and its deficits in political management--some very crude--, a series of corruption scandals--so far unproven--have tarnished the image of the ruling party recently.
Meanwhile, in Brazil
From the Bolsonaro saga 👇, as his eldest son associates this ailment with the alleged political persecution against him.
Doctors for Brazil’s Bolsonaro say early-stage cancer detected in his skin lesions https://t.co/p0qmkykJaT
— CTV News (@CTVNews) September 17, 2025
A violent region
Violence continues to mark the sociopolitical life here, particularly in countries like Mexico, Ecuador, and Colombia. This Wednesday, it emerged that six people lost their lives in a police station in the latter, after a fight among inmates led a group to set fire to mattresses, creating a compromised situation in which several of them ended up inhaling smoke with the referred fatal results.
This is all for today’s report.
