The crushing 2024 presidential election has left large groups, especially Latinos and immigrants, in a state of panic and terror. But this state of panic is not widespread, is exaggerated and exacerbated by left-wing media.
It happened to me several times, more specifically during the presidential elections in Colombia in 2022, 2018, 2016 and 2014. With the exception of 2016, all of these times were presidential elections between a candidate from the extreme left and the extreme right. In all three, I remember that it was taboo in my family to talk about politics because we were divided between the two candidates. In school, the talks were mortal, because at any moment we could start a fight.
Groups of friends temporarily distanced themselves depending on the political position of each family. Talking about politics with someone we didn’t trust or didn’t know whose side they were on was like playing Russian Roulette.
Election days were especially hard. Not only because of the shortage of polling stations but because of multiple bomb threats by insurgent groups and how difficult it was to reach the polls. I remember several times when I went into the ballot box with my dad and he begged me to be quiet because as soon as he received the ballot I started shouting which candidate to vote for.
I know perfectly well what it is like to be told that the country will end after an election, that you will be deprived of your rights, that dark years will come and the country will take years to recover from this horrible event. I’ve heard it plenty of times, not only from people who voted for a candidate who lost but also from media outlets that were supposed to be neutral, famous figures and a long list of personalities and institutions that didn’t feel the slightest remorse in creating panic.
Focusing on the next U.S. president, there are things to be accepted. The first is that Trump’s campaign was better than Kamala Harris’, his proposals were better structured and economically it will give a boost to the country, even when bio-ethically we may think that it is wrong.
Does that mean that Trump’s proposals are good? Objectively: some yes, some no.
Just as the idea of expelling 11 million immigrants terrorizes a large portion of the Latino and foreign population living in the country, there are other proposals that will benefit Latinos. Continuing the tax cut is a measure that will benefit the middle class and working class. The fiscal deficit may or may not increase, depending on how tax revenue increases with tariffs and cuts.
On the other hand, Trump’s plan to end the war in Ukraine in 24 hours, even though it wasn’t accomplished, after becoming president was to ask both sides to stop fighting and give Russia the territory occupied with the promise in addition to not allow Ukraine entry into the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in exchange for a widespread rearmament of the Ukrainian army that leaves them in better condition than in 2021, when the war began. The only problem is that both sides have already made it clear in advance that they will not accept these conditions, and the U.S. has minimal leverage to put pressure on either side.
Can we say that Trump hates foreigners or the children of immigrants? Possibly
Possibly, because it is evident the contempt he has toward certain groups of people, either because he believes these groups are harming the American people or because he personally may have prejudices.
Three foreigners have been nominated into Trump’s cabinet. Elon Musk (South African), Marco Rubio (of Latin descent) and Vivek Ramaswamy (of Indian descent), and if you want to include Tulsi Gabbard also, who was born in American Samoa.
With this in mind, it is easy to realize that the great cataclysm for immigrants will be that the government will expel some illegal immigrants and perhaps an increase in the prices of Mexican products and hate incidents. In my experience, hate incidents are not new at all.
And is this wrong? Yes, but it’s nothing compared to what you could find in the media, which warned that Trump was coming to destroy everything. There will be things that he will do well – primarily economics – and things that he will do badly – the European Union is already preparing for the diplomatic clash with Trump.
In the end, there is something that many U.S.-born Latinos and American citizens don’t know or understand, which is that there are many things worse than a Trump administration.
Those people who are from Venezuela, Cuba or Nicaragua will know exactly what I mean. During the last half of the 20th century and especially in the first decade of the 21st century, many far-left candidates won elections throughout South America. By 2010, eight of the 10 South American countries had left-wing governments and in Central America, Guatemala, El Salvador, Costa Rica and Nicaragua followed the same line.
The result: inflation, shortages of products of all kinds, three of the world’s longest-running and most oppressive dictatorships, political crises, coups d’état and in some places an increase in armed violence by transnational gangs sponsored by dictatorships.
That is why the Republican campaign demonized Harris by putting her on the same line as many of these governments. And while there is a big difference between Nicolas Maduro or the Castro brothers and Harris, the speech was blocked by voters.
In the face of adversity or malicious propaganda, people cannot panic that a state with a strong Constitution and ideals that have stood firm for 248 years, shaken by civil war, world wars and a host of political scandals, may suddenly fall because a president was elected. Panic cannot rule in the next four years.
Just as I once saw how Colombia came out in front of bad presidencies – and currently it continues to come out ahead – and every day comes forward despite its politicians and now thanks to them, I have the full certainty that after four years, we can look back and see the Trump period as a good government or a bad one, but not as the end of our democracy.