Trumpism, corporate deregulation and biometric surveillance are converging into a new model of control in the region.
GCC News
Latin America is becoming the political and ideological laboratory for tech-supremacism. With Silicon Valley billionaire Peter Thiel recently relocating to Argentina, and the explicit influence of Trumpism shaping the discourse of the region’s latest presidential elections, we are witnessing a dangerous transition. This new model combines extreme corporate deregulation, biometric surveillance and unconditional geopolitical alignment with Washington. Traditional elites are embracing this far-righ
On July 6, Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro denounced alleged cyber-interference in the country’s presidential run-off. In Peru, candidate Roberto Sanchez also alleged fraud following Keiko Fujimori’s victory. While neither of these claims has been judicially corroborated, the victors in both electoral processes fit a common pattern: they are far-right candidates who champion “tough-on-crime” narratives, align themselves closely with the United States, and push for the incorporation of artific
Donald Trump has reinvigorated the Monroe Doctrine with the “Trump Corollary”. The National Security Strategy of the United States explicitly outlines the goal of expanding its list of regional allies “by cultivating and strengthening new partners while bolstering our own nation’s appeal as the Hemisphere’s economic and security partner of choice”. Where there were once military coups, lawfare and the coercive leverage of multilateral credit organisations, a new pincer movement now operates, com
Regional Impact
Within this architecture, Argentina has consolidated its position as the Global South’s primary experimental station. Peter Thiel, cofounder of PayPal and Palantir, has taken up residence in Buenos Aires. Coincidentally, Javier Milei’s anarcho-capitalist administration recently introduced a legislative incentive framework for artificial intelligence investments, based on deregulation, limited liability and a competitive tax environment (known locally as the Super RIGI). In other words, it offers
Shortly before Thiel’s arrival, Argentina’s Ministry of Human Capital announced on social media the creation of a social information integration platform called the “Social Digital Twin” (Gemelo Digital Social), designed to detect patterns, simulate scenarios, and project potential outcomes of various public policies. Although Palantir offers a “Digital Twin” service, the government’s announcement provided no details regarding the providers. There was also no information on operational mechanism
What is thoroughly documented, however, is the expansion of the country’s biometric surveillance apparatus and its associated risks. These technologies are deployed asymmetrically against racialised populations; as experts note, predictive policing tools that rely on arrest records and crime data encode racial bias because they are based on over-policing in Black and Brown neighbourhoods. In May, Argentina’s Ministry of Security signed an agreement with the FBI to use the CODIS genetic profiling
Market & Policy
The Trump Corollary relies on its own intellectual infrastructure, formulating discourses on Western supremacy, “borders and order” and the criminalisation of racialised populations and social protest, which local allies then implement in their own territories. In think tanks like the Adam Smith Center for Economic Freedom at Florida International University, former presidents and leaders of the Latin American right, from Fujimori to Macri, including the former OAS secretary-general who legitimi
Ultimately, the real threat of Trumpism and tech-supremacism in Latin America lies not in their capacity for technological modernisation but in their function as technologies of oppression. The submission of regional elites to Silicon Valley giants is a surrender of sovereignty, driven by their rejection of the democratic advancement of racialised majorities. By privatising social control, implementing biological databases of innocent citizens, relinquishing sovereignty and handing over natural
The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera’s editorial stance.
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