The Peruvian right-wing politician Keiko Fujimori looked focused, standing surrounded by TV cameras on a podium in central Lima.
The result has been made public today. But the most important thing is the evaluation of the ballot boxes, she said to cheers.
We trust the authorities, yes, but we trust more in the people's will.
Fujimori had repeatedly claimed that the election nine days before was marred by fraud. She loudly demanded that half a million ballots be declared invalid or scrutinized, even though observers had stated that no major irregularities had occurred.
From Myanmar to Israel
The scene in Lima took place in June 2021, more than a year after Trump supporters stormed the Capitol building in Washington DC. Many of them had been egged on by Donald Trump's repeated allegations of fraud in the 2020> presidential election, which he lost.
Trump still had to see Democrat Joe Biden move into the White House, and Keiko Fujimori had to swallow her election defeat. But the phenomenon of candidates and parties refusing to accept defeat and questioning election results without evidence continues to spread.
Election denial is spreading across the world, and it has a direct connection to Donald Trump, says Casas-Zamora, who is the secretary general of Ideas, firmly.
We saw it when the military junta in Myanmar cancelled the election before the recent coup. And (Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu has used the same rhetoric when he lost elections in Israel.
Divisive message
Global media has been dominated by news about Donald Trump ever since the president moved back to the White House in January. It's about trade wars, deportations, efforts to end wars in Gaza and Ukraine, and threats to annex the Panama Canal, Greenland, and Canada.
But it's also reported that liberal politicians in countries like Australia and Canada have gained ground, as a form of counter-reaction to Trump. And in some places, like Romania where presidential elections were recently held, it's said that right-wing populists have received a boost from the Magyar movement. The latter is something Kevin Casas-Zamora is not entirely convinced about, despite the fact that the far-right party AUR's presidential candidate George Simion is an outspoken Trump supporter.
Both Australia and Canada have centrist electorates that can be thought to react to what's happening in the USA. But in Romania, other forces have polarized voters to move towards the extreme right, he notes.
The election result in Canada is, however, hard to explain without taking into account Trump's divisive political message.
Trump has repeatedly made statements about Canada becoming the "51st state of the USA". And Canada, along with Mexico and China, was one of the countries President Trump initiated his global trade war against. The Conservative Party was the favorite to win the election, but the dynamics of the campaign changed due to Trump-induced anxiety. This led to the Liberal Party winning and Mark Carney continuing as Prime Minister.
Canada is not for sale and will never be, said Carney during a recent visit to the White House.
New tone
When Republican Donald Trump rode down the golden escalator in Trump Tower to launch his presidential candidacy in 2015, he did something else that had global consequences: He lowered the bar for what is considered acceptable for politicians to say.
In his first campaign speech, Trump claimed that the USA had become a "dump" for other countries' problems. He accused migrants from Mexico of being rapists who brought drugs and crime. Shortly after, Trump began setting derogatory nicknames for opponents, names that were often written in capital letters on social media.
Such rhetoric had practically never been heard in the world's democracies, hardly even among authoritarian leaders or populists. But many took after.
He has changed the political tone. With that, it's important to distinguish between cause and symptom. On one level, Trump is a genius, his language is so adapted to today's political communication, says Casas-Zamora.
On social media, subtle, thoughtful messages have given way to a harsher tone, reasons the Ideas chief. Trump can be seen as a product of that development. And the former reality TV star knows how to use the media.
Everyone who has been on social media knows that the sensational works. The algorithms like it.
Erdogan is watching
In a time of profound changes – such as the climate crisis, the digital transformation, and migration – voters tend to seek out "strong men" who claim to be able to maintain order. From that perspective, it's not surprising that Donald Trump appears to be acting to strengthen the presidency by taking control of courts, universities, and organizations. But is he thereby a democratic threat?
Political scientist Dr. Casas-Zamora, who was the deputy vice president of Costa Rica and taught at Georgetown University in the USA, draws on the answer.
Much of what is happening in the USA is deeply problematic. The notion that one can act without accountability strengthens autocratic leaders worldwide. (Turkish President) Erdogan is closely following the development.
2024 was a "super election year" when more than half of the world's population went to the ballot boxes. But democracy as such continued to erode. The average in the annual ranking Democracy Index, which The Economist Intelligence Unit conducts, fell to 5.17 on a 10-point scale. It's the lowest average since the measurement began in 2006. In 2023, the average was 5.23.
Currently, 45 percent of the world's population lives in a democracy, 39 percent under authoritarian rule, and 15 percent in "hybrid regimes", according to the report.
The most democratic country is Norway (9.81), followed by New Zealand (9.61), Sweden (9.39), Iceland (9.38), and Switzerland (9.32).
At the bottom of the list are Afghanistan (0.25), Myanmar (0.96), and North Korea (1.08).
The USA (7.85) is 28th on the list and is classified as a "flawed democracy".
Source: The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU)
Born in 1946 in Queens, New York, where he also grew up. Has an economics degree with a focus on real estate from the University of Pennsylvania.
When Trump was 25 years old, he took over as CEO of the family business Elizabeth Trump & Son, which was later renamed The Trump Organization. The business empire is primarily focused on the construction industry, real estate, and media.
Is the father of five children and is married for the third time. His current wife is Melania Trump, who was born in Novo Mesto in what was then Yugoslavia, now Slovenia.
The outspoken Republican won the presidential election with the promise to "make America great again", he was the country's 45th president from 2017 to 2021. Failed to be re-elected in November 2020, but won the election in 2024 and is now the USA's 47th president.
Donald Trump was the first president who did not have prior experience as an elected politician or military officer.
