The United Nations' annual General Debate opened this morning at UN headquarters in New York, with Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva taking the podium first and U.S. President Donald Trump expected to follow around 9:45 a.m. It's a pairing loaded with more than protocol this year: Lula has told supporters back home he intends to use the floor to warn Trump against interfering in Brazil's elections, just weeks before Brazilians vote in October.
Over the course of the week, roughly 190 UN member states will use the world's largest diplomatic gathering to stake out positions on migration, trade with Washington, and an organization still working to restore its footing after last year's funding scare. For Latin America specifically, this year's lineup is unusually eventful: a historic first meeting between Washington and Caracas, two brand-new presidents making their UN debut, two major economies opting to skip the podium, and one country represented by a government that didn't exist a year ago.
A Year That Reshuffled the Region's Delegations
Several of the presidents walking into the General Assembly Hall this week weren't in office the last time the UN gathered. Chile inaugurated Kast in March, Peru swore in Fujimori after a razor-thin election win, and Colombia's Abelardo de la Espriella took over from Gustavo Petro in August. Venezuela's transformation is the most dramatic of all: the country isn't sending Maduro's government to New York because that government, in the form he led it, no longer exists.
Brazil Speaks First, the Host Follows — With Sharper Edges This Time
Brazil has opened the General Debate for decades, a custom that traces back to 1955, when, as the story goes, no other delegation wanted the opening slot and it simply became habit. The United States, as host nation, has spoken immediately afterward ever since.
This year the sequence carries real political weight. Lula is framing his New York trip to supporters as a sovereignty message ahead of Brazil's tight presidential race. Trump, for his part, returns to the podium a year after telling the Assembly it suffered from "growing irrelevance" — CNN notes he's on record last year asking the chamber outright, "What is the purpose of the United Nations?"
Country / Speaker Schedule and Order at a Glance
| Date | Country | Speaker | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tue, Sept 22 | 🇧🇷 Brazil | Pres. Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva | Opens the debate, 9:00 a.m. ET |
| Tue, Sept 22 | 🇺🇸 United States | Pres. Donald Trump | Expected ~9:45 a.m. ET; meets Delcy Rodríguez later today |
| Tue, Sept 22 | 🇵🇪 Peru | Pres. Keiko Fujimori | 8th speaker, morning block; UN debut |
| Tue, Sept 22 | 🇨🇱 Chile | Pres. José Antonio Kast | 10th speaker, morning block; UN debut |
| Tue, Sept 22 | 🇲🇽 Mexico | FM Roberto Velasco Álvarez | Representing Pres. Sheinbaum |
| Wed, Sept 23 | 🇦🇷 Argentina | Pres. Javier Milei | Around midday ET |
| Wed, Sept 23 | 🇩🇴 Dominican Republic | Pres. Luis Abinader | Afternoon session |
| Wed, Sept 23 | 🇵🇦 Panama | Pres. José Raúl Mulino | Day session |
| Wed, Sept 23 | 🇪🇨 Ecuador | Pres. Daniel Noboa | 16th speaker, morning block |
| Thu, Sept 24 | 🇨🇴 Colombia | VP José Manuel Restrepo Abondano | Representing Pres. de la Espriella |
| Thu, Sept 24 | 🇻🇪 Venezuela | Acting Pres. Delcy Rodríguez | UN speaking debut as head of state |
| Thu, Sept 24 | 🇧🇴 Bolivia | Pres. Rodrigo Paz | First UN address since taking office |
| Sat, Sept 26 | 🇨🇦 Canada | FM Anita Anand | Representing PM Carney |
Paraguay's Santiago Peña, Uruguay's Yamandú Orsi and Cuba's Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez are also confirmed for high-level week, though their exact speaking slots remained unconfirmed at publication, per Barrigaverde.
Venezuela's Seat Has a New Occupant — and Today Brings a Historic First
The most significant change in this year's Latin American lineup isn't a new election result — it's a change of government by force. U.S. troops captured President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, in a military operation on January 3, 2026, and flew them to New York, where Maduro now faces narco-terrorism and cocaine-trafficking charges while held in Brooklyn. Two days later, Venezuela's Supreme Court installed then–Vice President Delcy Rodríguez as acting president to keep the government running.
That story gained a new chapter overnight. The White House has confirmed Trump will hold an informal sit-down with Rodríguez later today, on the margins of a reception he's hosting for General Assembly leaders — the first direct meeting between a sitting U.S. president and a Venezuelan head of state in more than a decade. The two governments have moved quickly toward normalization since Maduro's capture, including an oil-sector agreement giving U.S. companies a stake in Venezuelan production. Not everyone in Caracas is on board: Venezuela's opposition organized a protest outside the UN's local office today specifically to reject Rodríguez's participation in the debate. Rodríguez herself makes her formal UN speaking debut Thursday, September 24, arriving as Venezuela's actual head of state rather than as a stand-in for someone else.
Two Historic Debuts
Today's opening session also marks the first UN address for two new South American presidents. Chile's José Antonio Kast, sworn in this past March, speaks as the tenth country in the morning block, slotted between Egypt and Luxembourg according to a provisional order reported by The Clinic. His government says the speech will lean on security cooperation and trade, alongside a push to have Valparaíso host a new UN oceans-treaty secretariat, per El Dínamo. Kast has also said Chile remains only an observer, not a full member, of the U.S.-led "Shield of the Americas" security initiative that Secretary of State Marco Rubio is convening with regional leaders this week, according to La Tercera.
Peru's Keiko Fujimori — the country's first elected female president, having won a nail-bitingly close runoff — speaks eighth in the same morning block, following Brazil, the U.S., Jordan, Turkey, Kyrgyzstan, Qatar and Lithuania, according to scheduling details reported by Infobae Peru. It's her first trip abroad as head of state, authorized by Peru's Senate specifically for this trip, with First Vice President Luis Galarreta minding the presidency while she's away.
Two No-Shows: Mexico and Colombia Send Their Deputies
Not every major Latin American economy is sending its president. Mexico's Claudia Sheinbaum ruled out attending back in July, and La Jornada confirms Foreign Secretary Roberto Velasco Álvarez is leading Mexico's delegation instead. Colombia's Abelardo de la Espriella — inaugurated in August after one of the closest presidential races in the country's history — is also staying home; Vice President José Manuel Restrepo Abondano will deliver Colombia's national address in his place, according to La Tercera.
Canada Skips the Podium Too
North of the Rio Grande, Canada is following a similar script. Prime Minister Mark Carney will be in New York from Monday through Wednesday for meetings and side events but won't deliver a formal address, a decision confirmed in a BNN Bloomberg report. Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand will close out Canada's high-level week by delivering the country's national statement on Saturday, September 26, per an official Global Affairs Canada notice. Carney has framed the moment as an opportunity rather than a retreat, telling reporters ahead of the trip that "the world is looking at Canada differently."
The Rest of the Region: Malvinas, Minerals and a New Economic Pitch
Argentina's Javier Milei speaks Wednesday, September 23, around midday New York time, on what will be his eighteenth trip to the U.S. since taking office; Argentine outlets including MDZ report his address will center on Argentina's sovereignty claim over the Falkland Islands, alongside the free-market themes he's raised in past UN speeches.
The Dominican Republic's Luis Abinader also speaks Wednesday afternoon, focusing on trade, investment and artificial intelligence, according to Acento. Panama's José Raúl Mulino speaks Wednesday too, with a Palacio de las Garzas statement cited by Prensa Latina confirming his address and a full slate of bilateral meetings. Ecuador's Daniel Noboa, whose exact slot was still unconfirmed as of Monday, is now locked in for Wednesday's morning session as well — 16th in the speaking order, between Botswana and Ukraine, according to the UN's published program cited by El Comercio.
Bolivia's Rodrigo Paz, in his first appearance at the podium since taking office, speaks Thursday, September 24, where he plans to lay out his government's economic overhaul — including changes to currency policy and fuel subsidies — per his spokesman's comments to Red Uno Bolivia.
How Many Leaders Are Actually Showing Up?
The overall headcount kept moving right up to the opening bell. UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric had put the figure at roughly 73 heads of state and 45 heads of government in a September 18 briefing; an Ecuadorian outlet reported a higher count over the weekend, and same-day reporting from El Comercio this morning now puts it at roughly 71 — a reminder that these numbers stay fluid until the final speaker list locks in. The debate itself runs in two blocks each day, 9 a.m. to 2:45 p.m. and 3 to 9 p.m. local time, with speakers asked to stick to a voluntary 15-minute limit, per Al Jazeera's rundown of the rules.
This is also Secretary-General António Guterres's final General Debate in the role: his second term ends December 31, and the race to pick his successor, drawn so far entirely from Latin America, the Caribbean and Africa, is already underway according to a summary from the SDG Knowledge Hub.
How to Watch
The General Debate streams live and free on UN Web TV, with replays posted within hours of each address. Full transcripts and country summaries post to the UN's General Debate portal as each speech wraps.
