Brazil & Southern Cone - October 2026

This October edition of the Latin American Regional Report: Brazil & Southern Cone begins with an analysis of a proposed security reform in Chile presented in August by the government of President José Antonio Kast. With various constitutional changes among its proposals, the reform legislation also includes the creation of a new, more restrictive state of emergency, which had been slammed by opposition figures and human rights groups as a potential infringement of democratic rights and freedoms.

The next piece looks at the Kast government’s a reform plan to revitalise the country’s capital market. The measures included in the reform bill that was presented to congress aim to generate more sources of financing for the country’s economic development by making the country’s capital market more active and efficient. Still focusing on Chile, the next article considers concerns over potential environmental setbacks. In Santiago and other major cities, activists have carried out demonstrations to criticise the Kast administration and pressure the government to reinstate environmental measures that had previously been withdrawn.

Moving onto Brazil, the following piece looks at the crisis of the supreme court (STF) which intensified in September when the overseer of the politically sensitive Banco Master fraud investigation, STF justice André Mendonça, unsealed case files containing evidence that his colleague on the top court, STF justice Alexandre de Moraes, might have been in contact with the CEO of Banco Master, Daniel Vorcaro, the central suspect of the case. We then analyse the struggles of country’s traditional retailers, such as Casas Bahia. As the next piece explains, several big-name Brazilian companies, including various traditional retailers, have run into financial trouble and filed for protection from creditors, highlighting the country’s difficult business environment in certain industries.

Next, we look at the increasingly nationalist stance of President Javier Milei in Argentina, as he revived the country’s longstanding sovereignty claim over the Falkland Islands (Malvinas), which are administered by the UK. His government has also taken action against companies that explore for oil and gas in the waters surrounding the Falkland Islands. The next article then considers a major strike of dock workers in Uruguay which imposed steep costs on the economy, the port’s business outlook, and the government’s political capital. In the final piece of this edition, we look at another strike in Paraguay. The government of President Santiago Peña got another taste of the simmering discontent resulting from the rising cost of living and tight government purses, with Paraguay’s doctors’ union (Sinamed) led strikes and protest action in August.