Political scientist Ana Iparraguirre said President Donald Trump could move toward a more radical course if Republicans lose ground in Congress on Nov. 3, while Latin America’s new right must show results to retain support.
Iparraguirre made the comments in a Modo Fontevecchia interview broadcast on +Perfil and Radio Perfil; Buenos Aires Times published a transcript. She said Democratic gains could signal rejection of Trump without showing that voters supported the party, separating opposition to an incumbent from support for an alternative.
The U.S. midterms are congressional elections, not a presidential contest. The Federal Election Commission lists Nov. 3 as the next regularly scheduled federal general election. USAGov says all 435 House seats and about one-third of Senate seats will be contested, with those races determining control of both chambers.
Iparraguirre did not identify specific policies Trump might change; her statement was a forecast about the direction of his response, not a description of an announced policy.
Her analysis of Latin America’s rightward shift centered on results. Iparraguirre said the new right’s staying power would depend on delivering tangible outcomes, especially economic gains. She linked the political shift to dissatisfaction with government performance and rejection of the status quo, while describing an ideological advantage for right-wing parties. She also cited a question in Latinobarómetro’s 2026 report, published Oct. 2, asking respondents what the state had done for them and their families in the previous three years.
She compared the current wave with the earlier “pink tide,” saying its governments had produced results and helped reduce poverty for many people.
The interview took place before Brazil’s Oct. 25 runoff, according to the transcript. President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva won 51.79% of valid votes, while Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro received 48.21%, the São Paulo Regional Electoral Court reported after all ballot boxes had been tallied.
The Nov. 3 congressional election is the next scheduled test for Iparraguirre’s U.S. assessment.
