In the Coronavirus Pandemic Battle, Populist Leaders Perform Poorly

“If you rely on science and expertise, the risk is that it makes you seem weaker because you don’t know everything," Shifter says.

In Mexico, where 41,000 people have now died, López Obrador pushed to reactivate the economy while infections were still rising.

Several governors refused to go along with the federal government’s push to reopen.

López Obrador continued traveling the country and wading into crowds for weeks after the country confirmed its first infection Feb. 28.

Instead, he showed people the amulet that he said kept him safe and did not wear a mask publicly until this month.

As the deaths spike in populist-led countries, it is an entirely different world in most of Europe, where the disease is now on the wane, though not yet defeated.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, speaking at the European Parliament last week, cited the need for consistent leadership, community spirit and “democratic cohesion."

“Fact-denying populism is being shown its limits,” she declared.

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“We are seeing at the moment that the pandemic can’t be fought with lies and disinformation, and neither can it be with hatred and agitation,” Angela stated.