The debate was held after the U.S. presidential elections, which took place on November 3. It analyzed the candidacies of Joe Biden and Donald Trump, their results, and the deep polarization between Democratic and Republican voters. The U.S. elections have been followed with great expectation and interest worldwide. For this reason, Jorge Dezcallar highlights three aspects that Americans considered when voting: «What president do we want? What democracy do we want? And what world do we want?» However, the election result has only highlighted the division of American society and the polarization of the electorate, especially in demographic terms. The elections have reflected two opposing visions of reality.
Jorge Dezcallar defines the new president by quoting Bernie Sanders, who said that Joe Biden «it’s a men.» Biden is a decent person, with a calm personality and vast political experience. Moreover, he has already announced that he will not seek re-election, which foreshadows a promising future for Vice President Kamala Harris. Quoting the Bible, Biden states, «There is a time to destroy, a time to build, and a time to heal,» thus making it his priority to curb polarization.
According to Jorge Dezcallar, the new administration will focus on domestic policy. The consequences of the pandemic in the United States are concerning, both in health and economic terms. Biden has announced that he will hire 100,000 people to strengthen the healthcare system and will try to revive ObamaCare. Economically, he aims to prioritize the American middle class by implementing measures such as raising the minimum wage and increasing taxes on the wealthy. Additionally, he will replace the slogan «America First» with «Made in America.» Regarding climate change, Biden has already stated that he will rejoin the Paris Agreement and aims to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, though he will not fully embrace the Green New Deal proposed by Bernie Sanders.
On the other hand, some voices are calling for changes and reforms in the electoral system. In seven of the last eight elections, the Democratic Party has won the popular vote. However, there have been four Republican presidents.
Beyond domestic politics, Biden faces a world that is less globalized, more digitalized, and more unequal. «Biden is a convinced internationalist. He has a clear commitment to multilateralism,» says Jorge Dezcallar. Furthermore, the United States will seek to regain the trust of strategic partners like Europe, rejoin international organizations, and revitalize the United Nations. Regarding China, Biden will seek allies to contain the Asian giant and will take a firm stance on trade and human rights issues.
Felipe Sahagún points out that, as of today, the vote count has not yet been completed, which exemplifies the shortcomings of the U.S. electoral system. He also believes that if Donald Trump had won, American democracy would have been severely damaged. However, it is necessary to analyze why more than 72 million Americans voted for Trump again. Polls had given Biden an average lead of seven to fourteen points over Trump, considering the economic situation caused by the pandemic. Despite Biden’s victory, the polls underestimated the Republican vote in key states such as Florida and Texas. For Felipe Sahagún, credit must be given to Professor Allan Lichtman, who has been predicting election results since 1984 (except for the 2000 election won by George W. Bush). Lichtman uses a model with thirteen variables and analyzes which candidate benefits from each. His prediction for the 2020 election was 7 to 6 in favor of Joe Biden.
Many Democrats had already anticipated Trump’s accusations of electoral fraud. For this reason, the elected president is the best candidate given his extensive experience in the federal administration. «Thanks to this, the transition is moving forward despite the obstruction by the outgoing administration,» says Felipe Sahagún. The reasons why Trump is obstructing the election results are unknown, but the consequences carry a high cost both for American democracy and for its international image.
After the interventions of both speakers, the debate moderator opened the floor for questions, which participants submitted via YouTube chat, Twitter, or email.
Aranzazu Álvarez