Governments across the region balance sustainability, deregulation, and political control in 2025.
Date: 1st November 2025
Argentina
In 2025, Argentina witnessed a wave of legislative initiatives centered on environmental preservation, executive restraint, taxation reform, labor modernization, and migration control. Notable measures included:
- Ecocide Bill: Advanced in the Senate on June 19, 2025, the proposal—introduced by Senator Edith Terenzi—seeks to classify severe ecological devastation as a criminal offense.
- Presidential Decree Limitation Act: Passed by the Chamber of Deputies on October 8, 2025, curbing the executive’s authority to issue emergency decrees to prevent institutional overreach.
- Tax Simplification Initiative: Forwarded to Congress on June 5, 2025, designed to cut red tape, reduce compliance timelines, and streamline fiscal processes.
- Labor Market Reforms: Expected updates aim to lower interest rates on labor disputes and introduce measures to stimulate employment and productivity.
- Migration Overhaul: Enforced in May 2025, the reform tightened eligibility for permanent residency and citizenship, excluded applicants with criminal records, and strengthened border oversight.
- Penal Code Overhaul Discussions: Proposed changes address lowering the age of criminal responsibility, limiting conditional release, toughening penalties for corruption and organized crime, and criminalizing emerging offenses such as revenge pornography, AI-related fraud, and animal cruelty. Street-blocking protests could lead to up to three years of imprisonment.
- Consumer and Product Regulation Updates: Reforms enhanced transparency in digital transactions, suggested “repairability” labels for electronics, accepted EU certifications for vehicle imports, and simplified primary battery approvals.
Brazil
Brazil’s 2025 agenda leaned toward deregulation in environmental policy, comprehensive tax reforms, reciprocity in global trade, and digital safeguards, amid mounting concerns over Amazon deforestation.
- Environmental Licensing Bill (“Devastation Bill”): Ratified on July 17, 2025, it simplifies industrial, agricultural, and mining licenses through self-declarations, removing protections for certain indigenous and quilombola territories—drawing sharp criticism before COP30.
- Economic Reciprocity Law No. 15.122/2025: Enacted April 14, 2025, permitting retaliatory tariffs against nations imposing discriminatory trade barriers.
- Tax Reform Complementary Law No. 214/2025: Signed January 16, 2025, implementing the 2023 constitutional amendment to unify Brazil’s tax system.
- Children’s Digital Safety Bill: Approved August 20, 2025, creating legal safeguards for minors in online spaces.
- Rejection of the “Shielding” Amendment (PEC da Blindagem): Blocked on September 24, 2025, preventing legal immunities for politicians.
- Sustainability Measures: Included public consultations on national adaptation and mitigation strategies (until August 2025), finalization of the Brazilian Sustainable Taxonomy (August 2025), and drafting of Brazil’s RoHS regulation for hazardous electronic materials.
Chile
Chile’s 2025 priorities revolved around tax modernization, regulatory simplification, and sustainability enhancements.
- Tax Reform Bill: Introduced July 21, 2025, establishing simplified regimes for small businesses, higher taxes on top earners and investment funds, and incentives for the middle class.
- Framework Law on Sectoral Authorizations No. 21.770: Published September 29, 2025, to streamline business licensing processes.
- Regulatory Simplification Law No. 21.755: Released July 11, 2025, reducing bureaucratic friction to stimulate economic activity.
- Business and Human Rights Bill No. 17.446-17: Filed April 2025, compelling large corporations to report on human rights due diligence practices.
- Digital Marketplace Resolution 79/2025: Dated July 14, 2025, requiring online platforms to verify vendor tax compliance.
- EPR Law Updates (Law No. 20.920): Added textiles as a priority sector in June 2025 and finalized new recovery targets for batteries and electronic equipment.
Colombia
In 2025, Colombia advanced major overhauls in labor rights, artificial intelligence governance, data privacy, and taxation.
- Comprehensive Labor Reform Law: Enacted June 25, 2025, overhauling 70 provisions on contracts, wages, and workplace protections, with phased implementation through year-end.
- New Code of Labor Procedure and Social Security (Law 2452/2025): Introduced streamlined processes for resolving labor conflicts.
- AI Regulation Bill (Senate Bill 422/2025): Submitted July 28, 2025, promoting ethical, risk-based AI frameworks with institutional oversight.
- Data Protection Updates (Bills 214/2025 and 274/2025): Approved in September 2025 to modernize Law 1581, addressing emerging technologies and compliance mechanisms.
- 2026 Fiscal Reform Bill: Filed September 1, 2025, aiming to close a 26.3-trillion-peso budget gap.
- Environmental Law Amendments: Proposed February 2025 to align with the Basel Convention, expanding hazardous waste tracking and labeling duties.
Ecuador
Ecuador strengthened its technical and safety regulations alongside national security initiatives.
- Energy Efficiency Standards: Revisions to RTE INEN 145 (electric motors), RTE INEN 090 (valves), RTE INEN 086 (helmets), and draft PRTE INEN 094 (water pumps) introduced stricter efficiency and labeling rules.
- Allanamientos Law Proposal: Submitted May 19, 2025, by President Noboa, this measure seeks to authorize warrantless searches in flagrante delicto situations, modify the Penal Code, and bolster protections for law enforcement—currently under legislative review.
Paraguay
Paraguay implemented an expansive legislative reform plan to attract investment and foster sustainable growth.
- Ten-Law Modernization Package: Introduced early 2025 to revamp economic management, public services, and investment procedures.
- Carbon Credits Law: Established a national emissions trading system aligned with the Paris Agreement, including a Carbon Market Directorate and compliance penalties.
- National Cybersecurity Strategy (2025–2028): Approved to secure digital infrastructure and promote certified technology procurement.
- NGO Regulation Law: Signed October 24, 2025, imposing tighter oversight on foreign-funded non-profits.
Peru
Peru’s 2025 legislative actions drew sharp global criticism for perceived human rights and environmental regressions.
- Amnesty Law No. 32419: Adopted August 13, 2025, granting amnesty for wartime atrocities, in violation of international norms.
- Organized Crime Definition Act: Effective 2025, narrowing the scope of prosecutable offenses and weakening anti-crime efforts.
- NGO Accountability Law No. 32301: Issued June 2025, revising financial reporting and oversight rules for civil organizations.
- Civil Society Restriction Laws (6162/2023-CR et al.): Passed March 12, 2025, further limiting NGO operations.
- WEEE Management Draft: Published April 2025, covering 11 electronic product categories with mandatory registration.
- Solid Waste Regulation Draft Decree: Under consultation July–August 2025, strengthening EPR and hazardous waste controls.
- Fiscal Reform Proposals: Introduced October 2025, risking a 5.5% GDP deficit through expansive spending initiatives.
Uruguay
Uruguay continued advancing energy efficiency policies.
- Lamps Technical Regulation: Published by MIEM, extending labeling standards (UNIT 1218:2020/1159:2024) to LEDs and incandescent bulbs, effective July 2025–2026.
- Refrigeration Appliance Standards: Updated to UNIT 1138:2023, applicable from 2027.
Venezuela
Political paralysis persisted in Venezuela, where formal legislative action remained sparse. The National Assembly’s publication of Nicolás Maduro’s January 10 swearing-in in the Official Gazette No. 6,877 marked the main domestic development, though the move drew international condemnation amid disputed elections. Most notable policy shifts came instead from abroad — primarily U.S. sanctions and temporary protected status changes.
Regional Overview
Across Latin America, 2025 was a year of contrasts — bold environmental commitments on one hand, and sweeping deregulations on the other.
On July 3, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights called for coordinated regional climate action, warning governments against backsliding on environmental protections. While Bolivia, Guyana, and Suriname reported no major new laws, regional trends underscored a shared struggle: balancing growth, governance, and global pressure for sustainability.
