Last week, the Association of Professors of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro organized a conference on the Praia Vermelha Campus with Minister Celso Amorim, the experienced diplomat and special advisor to the presidency of the republic. We begin this short article commenting on this conference less for its content than for the symbolic dimension it represents.

Just over 80 years ago, during the negotiations of the Charter of the United Nations in San Francisco (USA), a Brazilian woman – the only woman in our delegation – stood out in defending the inclusion of equality between men and women in the document that would become known as the "Constitution of the World".

The societies of two socioeconomic blocs, the European Union and Mercosur, are in the ratification phase of the world's largest agreement. The problem is that few people know that it is not just an agreement for the progressive reduction of taxes by up to 91%, as reported in the media. The Agreement is comprehensive, made up of three pillars: political dialogue, trade, and sustainable development.

The beginning of the year is a propitious time for planning. At the Observatory on International Labor and Social Rights (ODTI), it couldn't be any different. Always driven by the purpose of promoting knowledge and information exchange about the world of work, we decided to explore what is on the international agenda for 2026 to refine our monitoring of pressing issues and our advocacy efforts.

The American political system has shown strong signs of dysfunction in recent years. Once widely respected, majority elections have become a focus of dispute and distrust. The national legislature faces recurring decisional paralysis, often resulting in the paralysis of public services as well. The occupant of the executive branch, in turn, is increasingly accused of governing only for his captive electorate, and judicial decisions are increasingly seen as open expressions of particular political positions.

Latin America has suffered for decades from political oscillations that occasionally bring our continent into contact with dictatorships and oppressive governments. The LGBTQIA+ community, as part of a group of political minorities, is still one of the most persecuted. In this context, the United States of America maintains a strong influence in the region, and after the election of Donald Trump and the strengthening of his hate speech, the political persecution of our community has worsened.

This January 8th, amidst the context of the greatest neo-imperialist offensive against Latin America since the 1960s and 70s, should be dedicated to the dissemination of anti-authoritarian values ​​and social justice. Despite any ideological, moral, and utopian adherence we may have to the idea of ​​democracy, it is fundamental to recognize that it is linked to the idea of ​​equality. Its historical existence is strongly linked to the struggle of social movements and the Left.

On November 4, 2026, tens of millions of U.S. citizens will go to the polls to elect the 435 members of the House of Representatives, one third of the members of the Senate, and many governors, mayors, state legislators, and local officials.

Brazil will hold national elections in October of this year. The first round will be on the 4th and the second on the 25th. More than 150 million voters will go to the polls to vote for their candidates for President of the Republic, State Governor, Federal Deputy, State Deputy, and Senator

Fear of crime and violence has made public security the main concern of the Brazilian population, according to recent research. This fear is not unfounded. A country that has historically lived with high rates of homicide and domestic violence has, in the last decade, begun to face a new phenomenon: the national spread of criminal organizations associated with drug trafficking, whose origins are based in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. Added to this is an epidemic of cell phone thefts, online scams, and increasingly organized and violent property crimes.

Truths be told. We already knew, but Belém further exposed the disregard for its own future of the most powerful nations, which call themselves the leaders of humanity. From the permanent members of the UN Security Council, at COP30 we saw a weakened Europe, a Russia at war, and the absence of the now climate change denying United States, the planet's biggest polluter along with China, which showed little willingness to make progress.

In 2025, Brazil witnessed debates about fair taxation, which included income tax reform and the approval by the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate of a Bill (PL 1.087/2025) that in order to reduce inequalities in the country exempted citizens earning up to R$ 5,000 (approximately US$1,000) from paying personal income tax (IRPF). Furthermore, this same bill reduced income tax for those earning up to R$ 7,000 per month. Finally, as a compensatory measure for the tax waiver, a minimum tax rate of up to 10% was adopted, benefiting approximately 141,000 Brazilians (0.13% of the population), a percentage corresponding to those Brazilians with incomes above R$ 50,000 per month. The estimated impact of implementing these measures gives clues to the extent of the system's inequality, since this minimum taxation could alleviate the income of another 10 million people.

On November 25th, the Brazilian Supreme Federal Court delivered a definitive sentence against former President Jair Bolsonaro, sentencing him to 27 years and 3 months in prison. He was found guilty of participating in the failed coup attempt that sought to prevent the current president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, from winning the 2022 elections, taking office, and serving his legitimate third term. In addition to Bolsonaro, former ministers from his cabinet and high-ranking military commanders involved in the same coup plot were also convicted in the same trial.

The opinions of Guilherme Derrite, the Secretary of Security of São Paulo and a congressman, who supports Bolsonaro, and bill Bill 5.582/2025, known as the Anti-Gang Bill, constitute a true attack on the constitutional order in Brazil and is a reward for organized crime.

COP 30 inaugurates an important moment to strengthen the human rights perspective in climate solutions. Celebrating ten years of the Paris Agreement – ​​an international treaty that establishes commitments from states to protect the environment and responsibilities regarding climate change – the Conference, taking place in Belém, has an enormous challenge ahead.

The motivations for the operation in Complexo do Alemão that occurred on November 28, resulting in the murder of 121 people, are much more related to international geopolitics than one might imagine. It is urgent that the federal government propose robust responses to this issue before it is too late.

In recent years, the Brazilian Supreme Court (STF) has played a decisive role in defending democratic institutions against threats and attacks from the Bolsonaro government. The Court also prevented the implementation of several harmful policies by that government and Congress, which threatened the rights of minorities, public health, and the environment, and advanced the accountability of former President Jair Bolsonaro and his conspiratorial group for the attempted coup. This week, in judging members of the so-called "fake news nucleus," it reaffirmed that disinformation cannot hijack public debate or intimidate institutions.

After more than six years leading the Permanent Mission of Mexico to the Organization of American States (OAS), Ambassador Luz Elena Baños will soon leave the position she held with pride, courage, and great distinction. She has been a career diplomat with nearly four decades of service to her country, during which time she accumulated vast experience in Latin America, the Caribbean, Europe, and Asia. During this period, she became an expert on a variety of fundamental issues—from security and defense to human rights, gender equality, and development. Luz Elena Baños put all this experience to work strengthening multilateralism at the OAS.

Over the past five decades, the world of work has faced consecutive transformations amid a global scenario of profound inequalities and environmental destruction, the consequences of which primarily affect the poorest.

Trumpism and Bolsonarism comprise the so-called "neopatriotic far right," a political movement that, according to Sanahuja and Burian (2024), may have specificities in each country, but which shares a discourse of distrust in the electoral processes of liberal democracies. This "ideological synergy" has made the two countries a hub for transnational and international articulation of the Brazilian far right, according to Paulo Abrão (2024). Furthermore, the United States has the largest population of Brazilians living abroad—over 2 million—and became the foreign country where Bolsonaro achieved his largest extraterritorial electoral victory in 2022.