Latin America is becoming a laboratory for tech-supremacism
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-right blueprint because it allows them to weaponise racial profiling under the guise of “law and order”, aiming to restore colonial hierarchies and roll back the gains achieved by social movements.
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 artificial intelligence into law enforcement and security management.
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, combining Trumpist financing with Silicon Valley’s surveillance........
