Caffeinated Politics

This weekend, the world reminded us that democracy, for all its vulnerabilities and threats, often from within, is beating strong. That reminder comes just when we need it most. Voters who had grown weary of strongmen, political intimidation, corruption, and leaders who mistake public office for personal entitlement took a strong stand in two places across the globe. As Americans look toward the midterm elections, the message is worth holding on to.

In Serbia, a student-led movement has challenged the political dominance of a powerful populist leader, and in Brazil, voters have delivered a stunning rebuke to a right-wing political dynasty and its efforts to maintain power.

The countries are different. Their histories, political institutions, and circumstances differ from those of the United States. But the democratic principle connecting them is exactly what voters here need to grasp. No leader is more powerful than the people who ultimately decide whether that leader deserves to govern.

For 14 years, Serbia’s Aleksandar Vucic dominated the country’s political landscape. His government and political allies built an entrenched system of power, while critics raised concerns about corruption, media repression, and the erosion of democratic checks and balances.

In Brazil, voters gave Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva a victory over the former president’s son. The outcome represented a major setback for a conservative movement that had enjoyed considerable success across Latin America and was a stark rebuke to a corrupt political family whose relationship with democratic institutions has been deeply flawed.

Authoritarian-leaning leaders often assume that years in office, with the creation of endless bombast, fury, and chaos, will wear down the electorate. They assume opponents will remain divided, citizens will become exhausted, and the machinery of government will eventually overwhelm the public will.

But this weekend’s events offer something American voters desperately need to see. Political momentum can shift, entrenched leaders can be defeated, and citizens who refuse to surrender their democratic rights can make a difference.

The weekend elections were not merely victories for the left or defeats for the right. First and foremost, we need to recognize that democratic accountability was on the ballot, and it won. That is precisely why the American midterms matter. We have an opportunity to decide who represents us in Congress and whether those entrusted with public power will face meaningful scrutiny.

The Serbian students did not begin with the certainty of victory. Brazilian voters faced a rugged, mean-spirited conservative family. In both elections, the outcome was far from assured. Yet citizens in both countries participated in the democratic process and demonstrated that political outcomes are not predetermined.

Democracy cannot survive on the assumption that someone else will defend it. Now make your plans to register, vote, and demand that your rights not be trampled on during this process.