海角大神

Despite his broad unpopularity around the world, Donald Trump is not without his international supporters. What is it about the U.S. president that earns the respect and approval of non-Americans?

Farmers are an important rural constituency, whose support for President Trump has held up despite his trade wars that dented exports.聽

Gender parity is coming to the leadership ranks at the United Nations. For women, the progress is long overdue. And while it has been and still is a priority of the secretary-general, powerful challenges remain.

As Tulsa, Oklahoma, gears up to commemorate the 1921 race massacre,聽a new generation of Tulsans are finding ways to make the story of Black Wall Street their own. What can the country learn from their efforts?

Amid the flood of books about President Trump, three thoughtful ones stand out. They go beneath the surface to examine the president鈥檚 actions and character, but also the currents of thought that first brought him to power.聽

Wouldn鈥檛 much of the world, not to mention Americans, be delighted if these statements were voiced after the Nov. 3 presidential election in the United States:

The people have 鈥渞ejected the ominous predictions of confrontation and violence.鈥�

鈥淧eople voted in freedom and the result was clear and forceful, giving great legitimacy to the incoming government.鈥�

鈥淐itizens reaffirmed their support for democracy in a calm and respectful atmosphere, ... paving the way back to the constitutional framework.鈥�

Actually, the three different comments were made after an election in Bolivia on Oct. 18 by, respectively, the head of聽the country鈥檚 electoral authority and two foreign observer groups, the Organization of American States and the Carter Center. The European Union also commended Bolivia for holding a clean and transparent election.

What makes the statements stand out 鈥� especially in a world leaning authoritarian and coping with the coronavirus 鈥� is that they mark the surprise recovery of Bolivia鈥檚 democracy. A year ago, a longtime and increasingly autocratic ruler, President Evo Morales, was forced to flee the country after a very controversial election in which ballot counting was inexplicably frozen for 24 hours until he was declared the winner.

Under an interim government, Bolivia has since reformed its electoral authority in a bipartisan way, cleaned up its voting procedures, and conducted a voter education campaign. With renewed faith in the system, voters turned out in record participation despite high rates of COVID-19. The underdog in the race, former President Carlos Mesa, said beforehand that he would accepts the results. The winner, Luis Arce, a former finance minister under Mr. Morales, vowed to form a government of national unity after taking office Nov. 8.

Democracy in Bolivia is now more institutionalized and less driven by personal rule. 鈥淭his affirms how people want to live in peace and with institutions that fulfill their mission,鈥� said Salvador Romero, the head of聽the electoral authority.

Bolivian politics remains highly polarized, divided by race and income, much like the U.S. Yet voters in Bolivia turned out calmly to restore elections and try to heal those divides. Citizens who treat each other equally at the ballot box can more easily address inequalities in society. That message, even from a small country in the Andes, is a timely one for struggling democracies, starting with the U.S.