Three voices from Latin America were heard at this year's UN meeting. And each one was different. We are not very used to this in Europe, because there is a strong liberal consensus among European politicians.
However, the Latin American continent, which the world often perceives only as Washington's sphere of influence, has proven to be a laboratory of different visions of the future. For decades, people talked about Latin America, but few really listened to it. Today, its presidents are speaking up for themselves and saying things that few would expect from the "global South."
For the Western world, every UN meeting is primarily about the US president's speech. This year's 80th session was no exception. Donald Trump did not disappoint, speaking with his usual sharpness, calling for an "immediate halt to migration," warning of the "decline of the West," and advocating strength and self-sufficiency.
Emmanuel Macron also earned media attention when he announced France's intention to recognize the state of Palestine. And for most observers, that was the end of it.
But that is a typical Euro-Atlantic mistake. The UN General Assembly is not only a stage for the West, but also a mirror of how the rest of the planet thinks about the world. And it was Latin America, long considered geopolitically to be something "in between," that this year showed a remarkable diversity of ideas, emotions, and moral visions.
This year at the UN, Latin America did not act as the unified voice of the global South, but as a mirror of today's world, which is searching for new meaning. Petro, Lula, and Milei each spoke a different language, but they all wanted the same thing: for their countries to be not just objects of history, but its creators. It is precisely in this diversity that the real strength of Latin America may lie. It is not unified, but it is heard.
Petro and his gospel of justice
The most radical speech and also the longest of those analyzed was delivered by Colombian President Gustavo Petro. A possible reason for this is that his four-year term is coming to an end and the Colombian constitution prohibits re-election.
The main focus of the Colombian president's speech was the situation in Gaza, which he considers genocide. Not only does he consider it necessary to end the conflict, but he also believes that the UN should send its troops to the region.
According to him, Donald Trump has a direct role in the events in Gaza. The accusations against the American president were very strong: "Trump not only allows rockets to fall on young people in the Caribbean, but also allows them to fall on children, women, and the elderly in Gaza. He is becoming an accomplice to genocide."
His words suggest that Petro perceives the United States as the main perpetrator of structural violence—from wars to drug policy. In his view, American imperialism is a system, not just one president.
The animosity between Trump and Petro is mutual, as the latter considers him an illegal drug lord. The Colombian leader, of course, rejects this label. Moreover, in his speech, he attacked Trump's anti-drug policy, stating: "Anti-drug policy does not serve to stop cocaine heading to the US. It serves to control the nations of the South."
However, Petro is not entirely an outdated type of Latin American left-wing anti-imperialist politician. He has enhanced his anti-American stance with the fight against climate change. The world's elites are unwilling to give up coal, oil, or financial profits, and therefore humanity is heading toward self-destruction.
The Colombian president is therefore proposing a global plan for decarbonization and debt forgiveness for poor countries in exchange for ecological investments. After these statements, it comes as no surprise that Petro has called for a revolution of all humanity to replace nation states in decline.
This politician thus embodies a new form of the Latin American left: still anti-imperialist, but with global ambitions. A left that no longer focuses exclusively on class struggle, but proclaims the struggle for the survival of the planet.
Lula da Silva: reformer in a time of collapse
Compared to the Colombian president, the speech by Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva seemed quite moderate, even though Lula is also a left-wing politician. He based his speech at the UN on the defense of a multipolar world in which the sovereignty of each country is respected and states should defend themselves against any external interference.
Lula thus made it clear that he would not be intimidated by Donald Trump, who was an ally of former President Jair Bolsonaro, in the trial against Bolsonaro.
Even this highly critical statement towards the US did not automatically mean hostility towards Trump. The White House chief considers Lula a likeable guy whom he would like to meet. Brazil is a big enough country for the US to mess with and allow it to move even closer to the BRICS group.
Lula also pointed out that the current world often talks about wars but forgets, for example, the fight against hunger. For him, this is the only war in which everyone can win.
The Brazilian president also called for regulation of the internet and artificial intelligence. South America is not a technologically backward continent, but it is affected by digital problems just like the rest of the global world. Relative moderation was also evident in the Brazilian president's stance on the situation in Gaza, where he believes genocide is taking place, but does not require direct UN intervention.
Javier Milei: heretic of the left-wing West
However, Latin America is not just a collection of left-wing presidents. Argentine President Javier Milei also took the floor at the UN.
Unlike his "neighbors," he made it clear from the very beginning of his speech that the United States, and Donald Trump in particular, are more than just allies to him. Milei began with sharp criticism of the United Nations itself.
According to him, this institution has lost its original liberal meaning and has turned into an instrument of tyrannical bureaucracy. As he stated: "We don't need more bureaucrats in New York, we need less taxes and more freedom."
According to Milei, the UN has deviated from its mission to resolve armed conflicts between states and instead promotes its own agenda, such as the fight against climate change.
He counters this ideology with a return to the basic criterion for political success, which is economic growth. The Argentine president unequivocally supported Trump's proposal for a tougher fight against migration and also praised his efforts to remove left-wing ideology from American institutions.
Sometimes, however, it is not what a politician says that matters most, but what he avoids saying. In his speech, Milei made virtually no mention of international crises, except to express his admiration for Trump. He passed over the situation in Gaza with diplomatic silence. It is a gesture that speaks more than a thousand words.