Democracy in America 2020

About the Book

This book is a sequel to the one by the author, “Democracy in America 2010,” which picks up the title and theme of the seminal book in political science by Alexis DeTocqueville. Mr. Suarez examines the landscape of American politics, culture and education as the nation progressed through the second decade of the twenty-first century. Being a political independent who held office – as a Miami-Dade County Commissioner – during most of the last decade (2011-2020), Mr. Suarez is able to bring a unique perspective to his narrative. It helps enormously that Suarez has degrees in mechanical engineering, law and public policy (the last two from Harvard University), which enables him to qualitatively and quantitatively discern how various forces shape the life of America. The ideology is both progressive and conservative; it is both reform-minded and also seeking to preserve the traditions espoused by the Founders. As an elected official in the largest county of the third largest state (Florida), which happens to be the ultimate bell-weather of presidential elections, Suarez brings a special, onsite perspective to the forces pulling the nation from right to left, under Obama, and then back to the right, under Trump. Two impeachments, various trade wars, the continuing culture war, and the emergence of the China colossus are dissected in terms that a lay person can grasp. On China, Suarez reaches perhaps the boldest level of analysis – taking on his JFK School professor, Graham Allison, whose book “The Thucydides Trap” is critiqued in incisive yet pithy terms.

About the Author

Xavier L. Suarez is both an academic and a politician. He was born in Cuba and came to the United States as a refugee from Castro-communism. Here in the states, he obtained scholarships from high school at the famed St. Anselm’s in Washington, D.C. and subsequently at Villanova University, where he was the only summa cum laude graduate in the entire school of engineering. He then obtained joint degrees in law and public policy from Harvard. In 1985, Suarez was elected Mayor of Miami; he was reelected twice. In 2011, Suarez was elected Miami-Dade County Commissioner, where he served for two-plus terms, until termed out in 2020. He has written books on topics ranging from politics to anthropology and economics. He is married to Rita Elena and lives, with his son Francis (currently serving as Mayor of Miami) and daughters Olga, Annie and Carolina, plus 11 grandkids, in the Miami area.