Santo Domingo.- The rise of Donald Trump in the United States and the growth of the figure of Santiago Matías, known as “Alofoke”, in the Dominican Republic are compared in an opinion piece by J.C. Malone, published in Listín Diario, as phenomena that reflect the discontent of broad sectors of their respective societies with traditional political elites.
The text stems from a personal experience of the author during Trump’s first presidential campaign, when some friends were trying to convince him that the then-candidate represented a danger to the United States.
After listening to his arguments, Malone suggests that Trump did not emerge in isolation, but was also a product of a society and sectors of power that for years contributed to turning him into a national and international celebrity.
To explain this idea, he establishes a comparison with the novel Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley, in which Doctor Victor Frankenstein creates a creature that subsequently ends up rebelling against its creator.
The article brings this reflection to the Dominican Republic, where Malone compares the Trump phenomenon with the rise of Santiago Matías (Alofoke), a businessman, radio personality, streamer, record producer, and current presidential hopeful. In July 2026, Matías announced his intention to create a political party to compete in the 2028 presidential elections.
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The Alofoke phenomenon
According to the article, Alofoke is also a product of Dominican society and the transformations experienced by the country over the last decades.
Malone questions the criticisms from sectors of the political and business elite that dismiss Alofoke and some of his followers due to their educational level, arguing that those same structures should ask themselves what the social, educational, and political conditions were that allowed for the emergence and expansion of this phenomenon.
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The reflection suggests that the Alofoke phenomenon cannot be analyzed solely from his personality or the content he produces, but also from the characteristics of a society that consumes, shares, and amplifies that content.
From Balaguer to Alofoke
One of the central questions of the article is how the Dominican Republic went from an era marked by political and intellectual figures such as Joaquín Balaguer to a scenario where a personality from radio, entertainment, and digital platforms can become a figure with presidential aspirations.
The author attributes part of that transformation to the governments that have led the country since 1996 and points to Leonel Fernández, Hipólito Mejía, Danilo Medina, and Luis Abinader as the political figures responsible for the conditions accumulated during that period.
The reflection maintains that, if a part of the population lacks a quality education, the responsibilities should not be attributed exclusively to those who represent that social reality today, but also to the administrations that have had the responsibility of directing the country’s public policies for decades.
In that sense, the article suggests that the Alofoke phenomenon can also be interpreted as a consequence of the accumulated deficiencies in educational, social, and political matters.
Between entertainment and politics
Malone also recalls that the leap from entertainment to politics is not a phenomenon exclusive to the Dominican Republic.
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Among the cited examples are Ronald Reagan, who went from Hollywood to the presidency of the United States; Arnold Schwarzenegger, who was governor of California; and Volodymyr Zelensky, an actor and comedian who reached the Presidency of Ukraine.
These cases, according to the article, show how societies can turn to figures from outside the realm of traditional politics when there is a strong desire for change or weariness with conventional party structures.
From this perspective, Alofoke’s political growth would be a sign of a transformation in the way Dominican citizens consume information, build leadership, and relate to politics.
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A response to political wear and tear
The article concludes that both Trump and Alofoke must be analyzed within the social context that allowed for their rise.
Malone suggests that both represent responses that have emerged in societies where there is distrust toward traditional elites and questioning of the ability of politicians to solve historical problems.
The author’s central thesis is that Trump and Alofoke are not necessarily the cause of social unrest, but a consequence of it, and that their emergence should lead American and Dominican societies to ask themselves what political, economic, educational, and cultural conditions made their rise possible.
Source and credit: J.C. Malone, Listín Diario.
