Governments spend money like there’s no tomorrow. President’s family members become important policymakers.ġ4. Opponents are demonized, electorate is highly polarized.ġ3. Presidents blame foreigners for domestic economic problems.ġ1. (This is perhaps the most distinctive characteristic of BRism)ĩ. A strong president and subservient Congress.Ĩ. (Not having term limits at all is not evidence of being a banana republic.)Ħ. Attempts to end term limits for the current president, or to replace the president with his spouse to evade term limits. Packing the Supreme Court with loyalists.ĥ. Highly corrupt governments, especially governments elected on anti-corruption platforms.Ĥ. The cult of the “man on horseback”, who rides into the capital to rid it of corruption.ģ. Actual fake news in the media, and false accusations of fake news by politicians. I doubt whether when some Swiss guy complains about some problem in Switzerland that the listener automatically assumes it’s a direct attack on the Prime Minister. I have to say this because in 2020 I can do something as innocuous as complain about how the US responded to Covid-19 and Trumpistas will immediately assume I’ve attacked their Dear Leader.īy the way, this sort of misreading is itself evidence of being a banana republic. Heck, some of the items on my list, such as government data manipulation, don’t apply to either party in the US. So don’t say “But Trump doesn’t do that” Or, “but that’s what the Democrats do”. This post is my definition of banana republics, not a description of Trump. But it’s 2020, and the internet has turned us into a nation of morons. Before doing so, I have to explain a really basic point that should be obvious. People have asked me how I define “banana republic”.
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