Populism on the Ballot: The 2024 Elections in the U.S. & Mexico.

In the second half of the past decade, two populist movements rose to power in both sides of the Rio Grande: Trumpism and Obradorism (after the Mexican President López Obrador). This year, their future is on the ballot again, with Presidential elections in both Mexico and the United States. The heir of Obradorism, Claudia Sheinbaum, won the Mexican contest in July and was sworn President on October 1, 2024. Will Trumpism pull a similar feat? What do these movements have in common? How will the bilateral relationship change depending on whether Trump or Harris wins? What are President Sheinbaum’s positions on immigration, commerce, democracy, and the war on the drug cartels? To shed light on these questions, the University of Richmond will host Dr. Carlos Bravo Regidor, a historian and prominent political analyst in Mexico.

Bravo Regidor associate professor and coordinator of the journalism program at the Center for Economic Research and Teaching (CIDE) in Mexico City, a public research center specialized in social sciences. His areas of academic expertise are history and contemporary politics in Mexico and the United States, the bilateral relationship between both countries, and media and journalism. As a political analyst, he is a contributor to various printed media outlets, and a commentator on radio and television, among which include the New York Times en Español, Reforma, Dissent, Letras Libres, Mexico.com., W Radio, Foro TV, and Canal Once. He has been a Fellow of the Fullbright-García Robles program, the Ford Foundation, the Mellon Foundation, CONACyT and the CARSO Mexico History Studies Center. Bravo Regidor holds a bachelor’s degree in international relations from El Colegio de México, and a master's degree and Ph.D. in history from the University of Chicago.

Q&A to follow talk.

Sponsored by the Global Studies Interdisciplinary Program, Department of Political Science, and School of Arts & Sciences.