Chapter 113: Great Again

420      this political outsider . . . all his publicity stunts Sociologist Lorena Soler writes, “Cubas is the new thing in politics on the right, like Milei and Nayib Bukele. He is the perfect synthesis: he hates the political class and the institutions of democracy with a nationalism dressed in fascist black. Without a party structure and with a self-managed campaign, he represented change for an important portion of voters who were living through post-pandemic social discontent but also with the death of democracy.” Cubas “was elected as senator in 2018 but was removed from his post the following year after assaulting a police officer and calling for the death of Brazilians living in Paraguay, among other infamous stunts. He then made a show of selling hamburgers on the street to survive, a move that went viral and generated great public support. He later sold hamburgers again to finance his campaign.” Lorena Soler, “The Metamorphosis of the Paraguayan Right,” NACLA Report on the Americas 56 (2024), ri.conicet.gov.ar/bitstream/handle/11336/237248/CONICET_Digital_Nro.aa152cff-0a5b-48ae-983f-043be5a169bd_B.pdf, 76.

420      shocked . . . 23 percent of the vote Jorge Sáenz and Daniel Politi, “Paraguay: Populist Candidate Fires Up Protesters After Vote,” Associated Press (AP) News, May 2, 2023, apnews.com/article/cubas-paraguay-election-pena-alegre-fraud-37c5a7b7e40037ff9dae0af1568fe55f. 

420      refused to accept his third-place defeat Daniel Politi, “Paraguay Far-Right Populist Presidential Candidate Arrested,” AP News, May 5, 2023, apnews.com/article/cubas-paraguayo-paraguay-crusade-a7e4db52d27fc14355571a0abcc0dd96. 

420      falsely cried voter fraud Esteban Caballero, “Payo Cubas Phenomenon in Paraguay,” Latinoamérica21, May 12, 2023, latinoamerica21.com/en/payo-cubas-phenomenon-in-paraguay/; Politi, “Paraguay Far-Right Populist Presidential Candidate Arrested,” apnews.com/article/cubas-paraguayo-paraguay-crusade-a7e4db52d27fc14355571a0abcc0dd96. 

420      declared that the election had been stolen Cristian Delgado, a leading member of Cubas’s party, commented that “the people” felt that “the true president of the republic was robbed from them. Delgado quoted in Jorge Sáenz and Daniel Politi, “Paraguay: Populist Candidate Fires Up Protesters After Vote,” AP News, May 2, 2023, apnews.com/article/cubas-paraguay-election-pena-alegre-fraud-37c5a7b7e40037ff9dae0af1568fe55f. 

420      encouraged his supporters to protest the election Politi, “Paraguay Far-Right Populist Presidential Candidate Arrested,” apnews.com/article/cubas-paraguayo-paraguay-crusade-a7e4db52d27fc14355571a0abcc0dd96. 

420      arrested Cubas for breaching the peace Politi, “Paraguay Far-Right Populist Presidential Candidate Arrested,” apnews.com/article/cubas-paraguayo-paraguay-crusade-a7e4db52d27fc14355571a0abcc0dd96. 

420      “All the criminals in this country . . .” Cubas livestream quoted in Politi, “Paraguay Far-Right Populist Presidential Candidate Arrested,” apnews.com/article/cubas-paraguayo-paraguay-crusade-a7e4db52d27fc14355571a0abcc0dd96. 

420      rulers from . . .Colorado Party Politi, “Far-Right Populist Presidential Candidate Arrested,” apnews.com/article/cubas-paraguayo-paraguay-crusade-a7e4db52d27fc14355571a0abcc0dd96; and Caballero, “Payo Cubas Phenomenon in Paraguay,” apnews.com/article/cubas-paraguayo-paraguay-crusade-a7e4db52d27fc14355571a0abcc0dd96. 

420      governed Paraguay since 1947 except for . . . 2008 to 2013 Joel E. Correia, “Despite Conservative Victory, Paraguay’s Presidential Elections Signal Growing Discontent,” North American Congress on Latin America, May 31, 2023, nacla.org/despite-conservative-victory-paraguays-presidential-elections-signal-growing. 

420      channeled “the underlying anger” . . . widespread poverty and inequality Caballero, “Payo Cubas Phenomenon in Paraguay,” latinoamerica21.com/en/payo-cubas-phenomenon-in-paraguay/.

420      “seduces, but he leads nowhere” Caballero, “Payo Cubas Phenomenon in Paraguay,” latinoamerica21.com/en/payo-cubas-phenomenon-in-paraguay/.

420      another surprising election result . . . elected Javier Milei . . . Vanessa Buschschlüter, “Javier Milei: Argentina’s Far-Right Outsider Wins Presidential Election,” BBC News, November 20, 2023, www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-67470549. 

420–421  economist and former tantric sex coach Uki Goñi, “Far-Right Outsider Takes Shock Lead in Argentina Primary Election,” The Guardian, August 14, 2023, www.theguardian.com/world/2023/aug/14/argentina-far-right-populist-javier-milei-shock-lead-primary-presidential-elections. 

421       “Donald Trump–like character” Goñi, “Far-Right Outsider Takes Shock Lead in Argentina Primary Election,” www.theguardian.com/world/2023/aug/14/argentina-far-right-populist-javier-milei-shock-lead-primary-presidential-elections. 

421       “daytime television buffoon” Goñi, “Far-Right Outsider Takes Shock Lead in Argentina Primary Election,” www.theguardian.com/world/2023/aug/14/argentina-far-right-populist-javier-milei-shock-lead-primary-presidential-elections. 

421       wore merchandise . . . “Make Argentina Great Again” Eric Lagatta, “What to Know About Javier Milei: Why People Are Talking about Argentina’s New President,” USA Today, December 11, 2023, www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2023/12/11/javier-milei-argentina-president/71878610007/. 

421       restricted . . . the freedom to protest power José Pablo Criales, “Javier Milei’s Government Announces Plan to Crack Down on Argentina Protests,” El País English, December 15, 2023, english.elpais.com/international/2023-12-15/javier-mileis-government-announces-plan-to-crack-down-on-argentina-protests.html; Uki Goñi, “‘Prison or Bullet’: New Argentina Government Promises Harsh Response to Protest,” The Guardian, December 17, 2023, www.theguardian.com/world/2023/dec/17/argentina-president-javier-milei-security-guidelines-protests-currency-devaluation; and Débora Rey and Almudena Calatrava, “Argentina’s President Announces Economy Deregulation as Thousands Protest Against Austerity,” AP News, December 20, 2023, apnews.com/article/argentina-javier-milei-protests-economy-social-groups-c1b7d6506769f1331c37db6e16fe29a1. 

421       faced economic turmoil Neyran Elden and Henry Austin, “President Recep Erdoğan Re-elected for Unprecedented Third Term as Turkey’s President,” NBC News, May 28, 2023, www.nbcnews.com/news/world/turkey-election-president-recep-erdogan-runoff-kemal-kilicdaroglu-nato-rcna86052.

421       blamed . . . Syrian refugees  Elden and Austin, “President Recep Erdoğan Re-elected for Unprecedented Third Term as Turkey’s President,” www.nbcnews.com/news/world/turkey-election-president-recep-erdogan-runoff-kemal-kilicdaroglu-nato-rcna86052.

421       more refugees . . . than any other country “UNHCR: Total Number of Syrian Refugees Exceeds Four Million for First Time,” United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, press release, July 9, 2015, www.unhcr.org/us/news/news-releases/unhcr-total-number-syrian-refugees-exceeds-four-million-first-time. 

421       A firehose of disinformation spread that . . . Merve Tahiroğlu, “Snapshot—Immigration Politics: Refugees in Turkey and the 2023 Elections,” Middle East Democracy Center, August 16, 2022, mideastdc.org/publication/snapshot-immigration-politics-refugees-in-turkey-and-the-2023-elections/. 

421       established . . .Victory Party Ümit Özdağ, Twitter, August 24, 2021, 3:00 a.m.,x.com/umitozdag/status/1430062331510370324, archived at archive.today, February 9, 2026 capture, archive.ph/wip/tx76T; and Ahmet Ceylan et al., “Immigration Debates in Recent Turkish Politics and the Victory Party as an Example of an Anti-Immigrant Niche Party,” Recent Period Turkish Studies 47 (2025), dergipark.org.tr/tr/download/article-file/4096893, 58.

421       resisting the “invasions” of immigrants The word “invasion” appeared five times in the party’s founding manifesto. “Victory Party officials define the migration movements faced by Türkiye as ‘covered invasion.’” Ceylan et al., “Immigration Debates in Recent Turkish Politics and the Victory Party as an Example of an Anti-Immigrant Niche Party,” dergipark.org.tr/tr/download/article-file/4096893, 58–59, 62.

421       compelled . . . by more forcefully declaring and executing their plans . . . Ceylan et al., “Immigration Debates in Recent Turkish Politics and the Victory Party as an Example of an Anti-Immigrant Niche Party,” 61–62.

421       Since 2019 . . . occupied towns . . .“safe zones,” built housing “Erdogan: Safe Zones in Syria Will Allow Refugees to Return Home,” Al Jazeera, January 28, 2019, www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/1/28/erdogan-safe-zones-in-syria-will-allow-refugees-to-return-home; “Erdogan Reiterates Vow to Return 1m Syrian Refugees, Revealing Half a Million Already Returned,” Middle East Monitor, October 3, 2022, www.middleeastmonitor.com/20221003-erdogan-reiterates-vow-to-return-1m-syrian-refugees-revealing-half-a-million-already-returned/; Human Rights Watch, “‘Everything Is by the Power of the Weapon’: Abuses and Impunity in Turkish-Occupied Northern Syria,” February 29, 2024, www.hrw.org/report/2024/02/29/everything-power-weapon/abuses-and-impunity-turkish-occupied-northern-syria. 

421       relocated roughly half of million Between 2017 and March 2025 885,642 Syrian refugees returned to Syria. The Turkish foreign minister reported that more than 346,000 of those remigrations had occurred by August 2019, the month the “safe zones” officially launched. “Over 880,000 Syrians Have Returned Home Voluntarily Since 2017: Turkish Vice President,” Middle East Monitor, March 18, 2025, www.middleeastmonitor.com/20250318-over-880000-syrians-have-returned-home-voluntarily-since-2017-turkish-vice-president/; “Over 340,000 Syrians Returned Home from Turkey: Çavuşoğlu,” Hürriyet Daily News, August 23, 2019, www.hurriyetdailynews.com/over-340-000-syrians-returned-home-from-turkey-cavusoglu-145997; and “Turkey, US Agree to Launch First Phase of Syria Safe-Zone Plan,” Al Jazeera, August 22, 2019, www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/8/22/turkey-us-agree-to-launch-first-phase-of-syria-safe-zone-plan.

421       then secured the support of . . . Elden and Austin, “President Recep Erdoğan Re-elected for Unprecedented Third Term as Turkey’s President,” www.nbcnews.com/news/world/turkey-election-president-recep-erdogan-runoff-kemal-kilicdaroglu-nato-rcna86052.

421       pledged to consider . . . “by force if necessary” Sinan Oğan quoted in Suzan Fraser, “As Key Votes Loom, Turkish Parties Vow to Send Migrants Home,” AP News, May 9, 2023, apnews.com/article/turkey-presidential-parliamentary-election-syrian-refugees-d8ddc022f5285cb2440df58a206b4bfc. 

421       defeated Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, of the “center-left”.  . . Elden and Austin, “President Recep Erdoğan Re-elected for Unprecedented Third Term as Turkey’s President,” www.nbcnews.com/news/world/turkey-election-president-recep-erdogan-runoff-kemal-kilicdaroglu-nato-rcna86052.

421       pledged to remigrate all Syrian refugees if elected Kılıçdaroğlu “had previously said he intended to repatriate refugees within two years by creating favorable conditions for their return, but he subsequently vowed to send all refugees home if he were elected president.” Elden and Austin, “President Recep Erdoğan Re-elected for Unprecedented Third Term as Turkey’s President,” www.nbcnews.com/news/world/turkey-election-president-recep-erdogan-runoff-kemal-kilicdaroglu-nato-rcna86052.

421       endorsed by Ümit Özdağ Antionette Redford, “Turkish Elections: Anti-Immigrant Leader Endorses Erdogan Challenger,” BBC News, May 24, 2023, www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-65693118. 

421       won reelection to a third term as president Elden and Austin, “President Recep Erdoğan Re-elected for Unprecedented Third Term as Turkey’s President,” www.nbcnews.com/news/world/turkey-election-president-recep-erdogan-runoff-kemal-kilicdaroglu-nato-rcna86052.

421       prohibits a fourth term . . . has entertained changing . . . “Fresh Term for Turkey’s Erdogan ‘On Our Agenda,’ Ruling Party Spokesman Says,” Reuters, January 13, 2025, www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/fresh-term-turkeys-erdogan-on-our-agenda-ruling-party-spokesman-says-2025-01-13/; and Paul Kirby, “Erdogan Denies Bid to Change Turkey’s Constitution Means He'll Run as President Again,” BBC News, May 22 2025, www.bbc.com/news/articles/ce80zg9d76lo. 

422      all campaigned on abolishing the Māori Heath Authority Tom Kitchin, “Will a National-Act-NZ First Government Scrap the Māori Heath Authority?” The New Zealand Herald, November 5, 2023, www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/will-a-national-act-nz-first-government-scrap-the-maori-health-authority/ODQTKGOHLVEIRI6N6M5LXOGUZI/. 

422      formed a governing coalition Renju Jose and Lucy Craymer, “New Zealand’s National Party clinches Deal to Form Government,” Reuters, November 23, 2023, www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/new-zealands-national-party-reaches-deal-form-government-2023-11-23/.

422      had created the Māori Health Authority to . . . as well as to manage . . . Rowan Quinn, “Major Health Sector Shake-Up: DHBs Scrapped and New Māori Health Authority Announced,” Radio New Zealand (RNZ), April 21, 2021, www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/440903/major-health-sector-shake-up-dhbs-scrapped-and-new-maori-health-authority-announced. 

422      Māori leader . . . Winston Peters Lucy Craymer, “New Zealand’s Swing Right on Māori Issues Reveals New Fault Lines,” Reuters, December 10, 2023, www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/new-zealands-swing-right-maori-issues-reveals-new-fault-lines-2023-12-10/. 

422      “race-based initiatives” In the New Zealand First platform for the 2023 election, the party promised to “Return New Zealand to a single health system for all based on need not race,” and that they would abolish the Māori Heath Authority and “other race-based initiatives.” ACT leader David Seymour claimed that “the public service is meant to serve all New Zealanders, but even administration and service delivery has become focused on race. This isn’t a true focus on equity, serving citizens based on their measured need rather than their ancestry,” claiming that abolishing the health authority was not racist. During the first reading of the bill to disestablish the health authority, members of all three parties pushed for health that was based on “needs, not race.” “New Zealand First 2023 Policies,” New Zealand First, accessed June 5, 2025, www.nzfirst.nz/2023_policies. See also Lucy Craymer, “Race Issues Emerge in New Zealand’s Election,” Reuters, October 3, 2023 www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/race-issues-emerge-new-zealands-election-2023-10-03/; and “Pae Ora (Disestablishment of Māori Heath Authority) Amendment Bill—First Reading,” New Zealand Parliament, February 27, 2024, www.parliament.nz/en/pb/hansard-debates/rhr/combined/HansDeb_20240227_20240227_32. 

422      living longer than Māori people in New Zealand Quinn, “Health Sector Shake-Up: DHBs Scrapped and New Māori Health Authority Announced,” www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/440903/major-health-sector-shake-up-dhbs-scrapped-and-new-maori-health-authority-announced. 

422      “non-Indigenous citizens are losing out.  . .” Craymer, “Race Issues Emerge in New Zealand’s Election,” www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/race-issues-emerge-new-zealands-election-2023-10-03/.

422      won the most seats Bastian Benrath, Bloomberg, “Switzerland’s Right-Wing Party Soars on Immigration Concerns,” Japan Times, October 23, 2023,  www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2023/10/23/world/politics/switzerland-rightwing-party-immigration/. 

422      did the same in the Netherlands Paul Kirby and Anna Holligan, “Dutch Election: Anti-Islam Populist Geert Wilders Wins Dramatic Victory,” BBC, November 23, 2023, www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-67504272. 

422      “We have problems with migration . . .” Marco Chiesa quoted in Benrath, “Switzerland’s Right-Wing Party Soars on Immigration Concerns,” www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2023/10/23/world/politics/switzerland-rightwing-party-immigration/. 

422      the second-most seats in parliament International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) Election Guide, “Finnish Parliament 2023 General,” April 2, 2023, last updated January 4, 2024, accessed November 8, 2024, www.electionguide.org/elections/id/4031/. 

422      former leader, Jussi Halla-aho “Halla-aho Bio Reveals Exhaustion, Depression Led to Resignation as Finns Party Leader,” Yle, August 20, 2025, yle.fi/a/74-20178533. 

422      became speaker of the parliament of Finland Robert Sundman, “Jussi Halla-aho Became Speaker of the Parliament, Risikko and Filatov Became Vice-Speakers,” Helsingin Sanomat (HS), June 21, 2023, www.hs.fi/politiikka/art-2000009663011.html, via Google Translate.

422      its largest number of seats since 2004 In 2004, ADR won five seats in the election. In 2009, that number reduced to four seats. In 2013 the party won three seats. In 2018 the party again won four seats. In 2023 the party won five seats. IFES Election Guide, “Luxembourg Chamber of Deputies 2004 General,” June 13, 2004, last updated June 21, 2024, accessed June 5, 2025, www.electionguide.org/elections/id/1388/; IFES Election Guide, “Luxembourg Chamber of Deputies 2009 General,” June 7, 2009, last updated June 21, 2024, accessed June 5, 2025, www.electionguide.org/elections/id/1533/; IFES Election Guide, “Luxembourg Chamber of Deputies 2013 General,” October 20, 2013, last updated June 21, 2024, accessed June 5, 2025, www.electionguide.org/elections/id/1674/; IFES Election Guide, “Luxembourg Chamber of Deputies 2018 General,” October 14, 2018, last updated June 21, 2024, accessed June 5, 2025, www.electionguide.org/elections/id/2633/, IFES Election Guide,“Luxembourg Chamber of Deputies 2023 General,” October 8, 2023, last updated October 11, 2023, accessed June 5, 2025, www.electionguide.org/elections/id/4062/. 

422      withdrew . . . and downplaying the Holocaust Tom Rüdell, “ADR Candidate Withdraws Over Controversial Facebook Posts,” Luxembourg Times, July 25, 2023, www.luxtimes.lu/luxembourg/adr-candidate-withdraws-over-controversial-facebook-posts/2231361.html. 

422      Wealthy businessman . . . in 2023 Carolina Mella, “Jan Topic, the Millionaire Businessman Vying to Emulate Bukele in Ecuador to the Sound of ‘Top Gun,’” El País English, June 19, 2023, english.elpais.com/international/2023-06-19/jan-topic-the-millionaire-businessman-vying-to-emulate-bukele-in-ecuador-to-the-sound-of-top-gun.html. 

422      campaigned as Ecuador’s Bukele Mella, “Jan Topic the Millionaire Businessman Vying to Emulate Bukele in Ecuador to the Sound of ‘Top Gun,’” english.elpais.com/international/2023-06-19/jan-topic-the-millionaire-businessman-vying-to-emulate-bukele-in-ecuador-to-the-sound-of-top-gun.html. 

422      “But they are alive, aren’t they?” Jan Topic quoted in Mella, “Jan Topic, the Millionaire Businessman Vying to Emulate Bukele in Ecuador to the Sound of ‘Top Gun,’” english.elpais.com/international/2023-06-19/jan-topic-the-millionaire-businessman-vying-to-emulate-bukele-in-ecuador-to-the-sound-of-top-gun.html. 

422      eliminated in the first round . . . close to 15 percent IFES Election Guide, “Ecuadorian Presidency 2023 General,” August 20, 2023, last updated August 25, 2023, accessed November 3, 2025, www.electionguide.org/elections/id/4143/. 

422      signed the Madrid Charter Disenso Foundation, “Madrid Charter: In Defense of Freedom and Democracy in the Iberosphere,” Madrid Forum, October 26, 2020, fundaciondisenso.org/carta-de-madrid-en-defensa-de-la-libertad-y-la-democracia-en-la-iberosfera/.

422–423  admirer of Bukele Inés Santaeulalia, “The Colombian ‘Bukeles’ Want Power,” El País English, May 17, 2023, english.elpais.com/international/2023-05-17/the-colombian-bukeles-want-power.html.   

422–423  55 percent . . . wanted a president like Bukele Santaeulalia, “The Colombian ‘Bukeles’ Want power,” english.elpais.com/international/2023-05-17/the-colombian-bukeles-want-power.htm.

423       Two-thirds . . . “the mega-prison that . . .” Survey quoted Santaeulalia, “The Colombian ‘Bukeles’ Want power,”english.elpais.com/international/2023-05-17/the-colombian-bukeles-want-power.htm.

423       mimicked Bukele Associated Press (AP), “Guatemala’s Presidential Hopefuls Channel Heavy-Handed Tactics of El Salvador’s Nayib Bukele, El País English, June 5, 2023, english.elpais.com/international/2023-06-05/guatemalas-presidential-hopefuls-channel-heavy-handed-tactics-of-el-salvadors-nayib-bukele.html. 

423       won the presidency Simon Romero and Jody García, “Anticorruption Crusader Wins in Guatemala, in Rebuke to Establishment,” New York Times, August 20, 2023, www.nytimes.com/2023/08/20/world/americas/arevalo-wins-election-guatemala.html; and Rory Sullivan, “Can Guatemala’s New President Turn the Tide on Years of Corruption?” The Guardian, January 11, 2024, www.theguardian.com/world/2024/jan/11/guatemala-president-bernardo-arevalo-change-hope. 

423       launched a campaign to overturn the election Rich Brown, “Timeline: Guatemala’s 2023 Election Crisis,” Americas Quarterly, April 22, 2025, americasquarterly.org/article/timeline-guatemalas-2023-election-crisis/. 

423       that the election had been stolen AP, “Progressive Arévalo Moves to Decisive Lead in Guatemala’s Presidential Election,” NPR, August 20, 2023, www.npr.org/2023/08/20/1194911732/guatemala-presidential-election-2023-sandra-torres-bernardo-arevalo. See also “Guatemala Prosecutors Threaten to Annul Victory of President-Elect Arevalo,” Al Jazeera, December 8, 2023, www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/12/8/guatemala-prosecutors-threaten-to-annul-victory-of-president-elect-arevalo. 

423       brought bogus cases to annul . . . Brown, “Timeline: Guatemala’s 2023 Election Crisis,” americasquarterly.org/article/timeline-guatemalas-2023-election-crisis/. 

423       attempted to suspend Arévalo’s political party Gerardo Berthin, “Guatemala: When Hope and Reality Collide,” Freedom House, January 16, 2025, freedomhouse.org/article/guatemala-when-hope-and-reality-collide.

423       seized and investigated paper ballots Brown, “Timeline: Guatemala’s 2023 Election Crisis,” americasquarterly.org/article/timeline-guatemalas-2023-election-crisis/. 

423       “pact of the corrupt” “Pacto de Corruptos,” or the pact of the corrupt, is a euphemistic phrase used to refer to the “entrenched network of criminal enterprises and political and business elites that expanded their use of state power,” as Freedom House has written. They have infiltrated many levels of the Guatemalan political system. Berthin, “Guatemala: When Hope and Reality Collide,” freedomhouse.org/article/guatemala-when-hope-and-reality-collide. See also Steven Dudley et al., “Perpetuating Corruption: The System Undermining the 2023 Guatemala Elections,” Insight Crime, June 21, 2023, insightcrime.org/investigations/perpetuating-corruption-undermining-2023-guatemala-elections//. 

423       organized a national strike to protect democracy Brown, “Timeline: Guatemala’s 2023 Election Crisis,” americasquarterly.org/article/timeline-guatemalas-2023-election-crisis/. 

423       assumed office on January 15, 2024 Brown, “Timeline: Guatemala’s 2023 Election Crisis,” americasquarterly.org/article/timeline-guatemalas-2023-election-crisis/.