No respite from divisive politics

The US midterm election shows that the politics of division isn't waning. Rather its appeal is still overwhelming. While the election saw the Democrats take control of the House of Representatives, the Republicans have managed to extend their control over the Senate. The result represents the largest Democratic gain in the House since 1974, but as a conservative pundit pointed out, “there's only been 5 times in the last 105 years that an incumbent President has won seats in the Senate in the off-year election.”

The Republicans' electoral strategy was to capitalise on the conservative voters' fear of the migrant caravan, and they succeeded in doing so by exploiting the people's fear and instigating their jingoistic instincts.

Before this, Brazil has elected a new “Duterte-like” president, who has said some abominable things about—and incited violence against—vulnerable groups in society.

So liberals must not feel complacent with the midterm results in the US. While it's great that so many young voters decided to vote in this election, the liberals must not stop fighting.

Nurul Hoque, Canada