ONE OF the biggest political developments of 2025 is the new triumvirate of Bukele, Milei and Trump. Their budding alliance/cooperation may have the potential to transform global politics in the next few years, if for no other reason but that they offer alternatives to the way most modern leaders are expected to operate. Either they’re a bureaucrat, a milquetoast conservative or a left-leaning socialist. Bukele, Milei and Trump are none of these things.
It’s worth mentioning that all this did not start in the mid-2020’s. Back in 2016, the spotlight was on Donald Trump, Jair Bolsonaro and to a certain extent, our very own Rodrigo Duterte. These men were named populists, if for no other reason than that they stood in opposition to the ruling liberal order and were regarded as far right by Western media, but they hardly made any Earth shattering changes during their respective terms.
Trump had reduced immigration, imposed tariffs and partly built his wall during his first term, but all his efforts were also accompanied by pushback from American media and bureaucracy.
Duterte was known for his controversial drug war and his attempt to reach out to China, but I can’t recall anything special about his presidency either.
As for Bolsonaro, he tried some reforms but like the others, he did not make any lasting changes and he was later ousted by Lula da Silva.
This new triumvirate is different.
Milie managed to reverse decades of corruption and economic downturn by cutting down on government spending.
Bukele managed to turn El Salvador from one of the most dangerous countries in the Western Hemisphere into one of the safest, plus Bitcoin.
As for Trump, it isn’t just him anymore. Elon Musk, JD Vance and other members of his coalition are doing interesting things as well. Barring a few outlandish statements, they have been doing very well, and I for one, await what else the Trump administration has planned.
As I said, what makes these three important is that they offer a new form of leadership, not necessarily in specific ways but in how they respond to certain issues that have confounded conventional leaders in past decades. By being willing to forge ahead, they have brought forth new possibilities./PN
