About 50 years ago as a Latin American Studies major at Tulane University, I learned about a political system that has plagued Latin America for centuries: the cult of the caudillo and its accompanying ideology, machismo. Rolled into one, the words describe a leader, or caudillo, who embodies extreme manliness, or machismo. Caudillos typically  gain power with military force or by fomenting revolutions with promises of better lives for their countrymen. Either way, once in office they morph into dictators who oversee repressive regimes: Peron in Argentina, Pinochet in Chile, Noriega in Panama, Somoza and now Ortega in Nicaragua, to name just a few. Latin America’s appetite for strongmen at the top explains why many countries in the region have lurched, coup by coup, from one failed government to another. (See footnote) 

 

What I learned about Latin American caudillismo and machismo informs my understanding of what is happening in the United States today under Donald Trump. Clearly, a cult of caudillismo is rising here. Manly men are kicking ass and taking names and their supporters are cheering them on as they eliminate any vestige of the despised policies of Joe Biden. Real men drill for oil. Real men round up brown-skinned people and send them back whence they came. Real men have had enough of gender fluidity and homosexuality. Real men refer to soldiers as “warmakers” and rue the days when our military was woke and less lethal.. Real men don’t believe in man-made climate change. Real men don’t take any s**t from the presidents of other countries, especially if they’re south of the southern border! Real men believe that God chose them to lead. 

 

We have put in power a man who, despite his decidedly unmanly persona (bouffant hairdo, spray tan, flabby torso) worships machismo and aspires to rule supreme. Distressingly, most of the country seems to exult in his bravado and that of his lieutenants. Am I exaggerating? You be the judge.

 

Case 1: The confirmation of Pete Hegseth to be Secretary of Defense. 

 

At Hegseth’s confirmation hearings, you didn’t hear the word “soldiers.” Hegseth used  other words that are suddenly on the lips of the Trump loyalists. Those who fight for us are no longer simply called soldiers. Now they are “our men in arms” (not women in arms, mind you), or “warriors,” or — this one carries the most belligerent tone  — warmakers. We must double down on arming our warmakers so that they can overwhelm enemies. We can’t compromise the lethality of our forces; they need to be killing machines. It goes without saying that they’ll never achieve peak lethality with women in the ranks, much less warmakers who are woke. 

 

(After being sworn in, Hegseth listed as his first priority for the military “to restore a warrior ethos.” He then stripped the former Chair of the Joints Chiefs, General Mark Milley, of his security clearance and his security detail while ordering the Inspector General of the Pentagon to investigate Milley’s record for evidence that he deserved demotion.)

 

No reasonably intelligent person could miss the point: Our military needs an infusion of machismo. At least that’s what the unqualified caudillo running the Pentagon thinks. He should know because, as he’ll tell you, he was chosen by God.

 

Case 2: The bitch-slapping of Colombia

 

Last weekend, our muy macho Presidente showed what happens when the leader of a little sh–hole country like Colombia ignores the memo declaring that America’s new caudillo is running things now. Colombian President Gustavo Petro had the temerity to object to deportees being flown back to Bogota aboard military cargo planes, like cattle. He refused to let the planes land, whereupon Trump threatened sanctions and crippling  tariffs on Colombian goods imported to the U.S.  Petro caved fast and deportee flights resumed. Now our Presidente has a new scalp hanging from his belt. It didn’t seem to matter that Colombia has been a U.S. ally that China is wooing.

 

On a different flight, this one to Brazil, deportees were handcuffed and shackled because ICE identified them as dangerous criminals. On this flight ICE showed some compassion, an unusual sentiment for the agency. Children aboard the plane were allowed to fly without being chained. 

 

It was a great moment for the caudillo in the Oval Office and the millions of MAGAs who’ve waited four years to see him open up a can of whoop-ass on foreign invaders.. 

 

Case 3: Putting Mayor Karen Bass of Los Angeles in her place

 

After stopping in North Carolina to muse about shutting down FEMA and letting the states handle disasters, El Caudillo flew to Los Angeles with his trophy wife. They both appeared at a news conference —  Trump scowling under the brim of his large MAGA cap and Melania expressionless beneath hers — along with Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass. We  knew we were in for a show because El Caudillo doesn’t play nice with females, blacks or Democrats and Bass is all three. El Caudillo didn’t disappoint. Boy, did he show her who’s boss! Contradicting her and talking over her, he proclaimed that he was ready to take charge of relief efforts. Meanwhile, his mini caudillos back in Washington added insult to injury by suggesting that disaster aid should be conditioned on whether or not states cooperate with the Trump administration. Was it a threat to deprive California of disaster aid unless it allows, say,  more drilling for oil on public lands? Sure seemed like it. 

 

Case 4: El Presidente’s choice of role models

 

Needless to say, the people most respected by our presidente are all men who are emblematic of the title caudillo. I refer, of course, to Vladimir Putin; Xi Jinping (less macho than Putin but more powerful); Victor Orban (the ideological darling of the Republican Party); and the pudgy man with the funny hair from North Korea, Kim Jong Un. Trump openly admires each of them. He wishes he could rule as they do, with impunity. Thanks to his Supreme Court, he almost can. 

 

I haven’t written much about the calamities presaged by our descent into a MAGA dystopia. I’d be stating the obvious if I did.  But I do want to tell you what worries me most after observing the early days of Trump’s second coming. He has a new and scary swagger. Yes, he could be reckless during his first term, but on occasion he could be bridled by cooler heads in his administration. Then, he might threaten to do something nonsensical, but he didn’t always follow up with action. The new Trump is carrying through on his threats and doing so with bravado and vengeance, unrestrained by the law, political or ethical norms or any sense of decency. His election victory fortified his inherent machismo, and he now acts with absolute certainty. If he was reckless before he is now both reckless and ruthless. I don’t expect this to change. This go ‘round he will be emboldened by the support of an utterly subservient majority party. More frightening is his belief that he is manifestly destined for supremacy. Trump actually used that term manifest destiny last week when he talked about extending the territorial boundaries of the U.S. 

 

Did I see any of this coming? No, it was too outlandish to imagine. We may laugh at his plans to rename the Gulf of Mexico or Denali but think again — such notions are symptoms of delusion, of visions of grandeur. So they aren’t really laughable. They’re scary and ugly when viewed through the lens of history. The U.S. appears to be bent on empire now. (By the way, Google Maps, bowing to El Caudillo, just renamed that body of water between here and Mexico the Gulf of America.)

 

Finally, the most nauseating utterances of the past few days are those that offend my religion. Both Trump and Hegseth have explicitly stated that they believe God meant for them to be president and secretary of defense. Trump says God spared him from  assassination in Pennsylvania so that he could reclaim the presidency. Hegseth asserts that he was “saved” so that he could serve the country. I think Hegseth actually believes it. I seriously doubt Trump does. 

 

Millions of MAGA voters who self-identify as evangelical Christians eat this stuff up! They believe in a puppeteer God who causes every event to happen no matter how small or insignificant. If you sneeze, it is God’s will. They believe that everything happens for a reason. You hear people say this all the time and it drives me crazy. So it matters when our political leaders spout religious BS to win the support of gullible voters. Republicans shamelessly use such faux religious reasoning. Some of them know it’s nonsense. Some actually believe it. I’m hard put to know which is worse. 

 

I realize God can work in mysterious ways, but I am convinced that She had nothing to do with returning Trump to the White House. We did it all by ourselves and now we have to live with our foolishness. So buckle up for four years of machismo governance under El Caudillo and the Republican Party which  exists to champion his contemptible behavior.  

 

Footnote:

A caudillo — literally, “leader” — was typically a dominant civilian or military authoritarian, known for his machismo, or manliness. In Latin American countries, caudillos filled leadership vacuums after independence movements in the 19th century drove out European overlords. Many Latin American countries never cast aside caudillismo in favor of more representative governance. Outside of Latin America, long-serving and ruthless leaders such as the late Francisco Franco of Spain (pictured above on horseback) readily embraced the title of caudillo. Franco used torture, murder and incarceration to cement his power during his 39-year dictatorship. He actually referred to himself in the third person — as el Caudillo — to reinforce his standing as Spain’s supreme leader and to call attention to his masculinity.

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