Can conservative Latin American populists motivate the Hispanic vote? Republicans are counting on it

OXON HILL, Md. (AP) — On a recent evening outside Washington, the president of Argentina had the eyes and ears of a conservative crowd that had gathered to listen to Donald Trump. In a raspy voice, Javier Milei called out, “Hola a todos,” or “Hello, everyone,” before introducing himself as a lion.

“What a beautiful day to make the left tremble,” Milei joked.

His eccentrics may have seemed novel to those in the crowd unfamiliar with how he has used lions as his brand to symbolize his fierce stance against socialism, but the far-right populist has become well-known among Latinos in the United States since winning the presidency last year. He was joined at the Conservative Political Action Conference by El Salvador’s millennial president, Nayib Bukele, who delighted the crowd with a speech in fluent English deriding philanthropist George Soros and “globalism.”

The Republican Party is aligning with some Latin American populists as a way of injecting star power and the political landscape of immigrants’ home countries into this year’s U.S. election. Having made inroads with Cuban and Venezuelan Americans in South Florida by attacking the self-declared socialist leaders of those countries, GOP leaders are replicating that model by promoting ties between Trump and leaders who are well known by Spanish-speaking voters across the country.

<bsp-list-loadmore data-module="" class=«PageListStandardB» data-gtm-region=«READ MORE» data-gtm-topic=«No Value» data-show-loadmore=«true» data-gtm-modulestyle=«List B»> <bsp-custom-headline custom-headline=«div»> READ MORE </bsp-custom-headline> <bsp-custom-headline custom-headline=«div»> El Salvador’s president gets rock-star welcome at conservative gathering outside Washington