Ricardo Pascoe Pierce
Donald Trump and Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s political obsessions and government methods are surprisingly similar. The histories and policies of both governments have an avalanche of parallels worthy of Plutarch’s reflection.
First, their origin. Although each case differed, both came to power after carrying out furious campaigns accusing “the system” of imposing their opponents through electoral fraud. Although neither of these cases was true, they established themselves as anti-establishment candidates. In times of non-conformity and questioning of democracy, both candidates consolidated and deepened an era of discontent in their favor.
They created a political brand that reflected a break with the current political system to accompany their rebellious “personality”. Trump’s MAGA (Make America Great Again) and López Obrador’s 4th Transformation turned their struggle for power into a trademark. They transformed their political rebelliousness into an act of identification for their followers that helped them become faithful believers. Fanaticism is an essential component in achieving the blind loyalty of their social base. In both movements, there is a conviction that they are on the road to the recovery and restoration of an ideal society that they believe existed in a blurred past but which is, in reality, fiction.
So, what unites their movements is the conviction of injustice (electoral fraud) and the remedy (the enlightened leader as a political guide). Central to the movement was a distrust of democracy and the supposed truths and data of the establishment/power mafia.
Once in power, both considered that their mandate authorized them to dismantle and destroy all the existing institutions in their respective countries. Acting quickly to surprise and demoralize their opposition, they demolished electoral, judicial, economic, cultural, and social institutions to not respond to traditional ideas about a political system of checks and balances and accountability.
Despite not having overwhelming majorities, the electoral systems allowed them to take absolute control of the legislative branch. This enabled them to cover up actions of questionable legality, fabricate budget figures, evade effective accountability, and respond to questions about their actions with attacks, threats, and insults.
Crucial in both cases is the consolidation of formal and informal allies. In Trump’s case, his formal alliance is with the structure of the Republican party in Congress and with his majority in the Supreme Court of Justice. The complete change in the leadership of the Armed Forces and the intelligence and law enforcement agencies ensures his blind loyalty. Those who do not obey him leave their ranks and are fired. The same goes for the entire federal bureaucracy: blind loyalty or dismissal. Informally, Trump allies himself with big capital, whose fortunes are safe with him as long as they obey him.
López Obrador secured the Armed Forces’ loyalty through corruption of business deals using public money without the need for accountability. He has a majority in Congress for his party. He informally established an alliance with drug traffickers, allowing them to influence the election of authorities in their areas of economic activity in exchange for helping the official party win elections in the rest of the country.
Both leaders aspire to extend their terms in power. From their positions of power, they promote the national populist brand to ensure they are unbeatable through themselves or family members. Today, Trump is beginning to hint that he wants to run for a third term as president, while López Obrador is grooming his son to be a candidate for president in 2030.
The parallel lives of Trump and López Obrador are astonishing.
@rpascoep
Further Reading: