Discussion: What’s at stake in the 2020 election?

US President Donald Trump is seeking reelection on Tuesday against Democratic challenger Joe Biden in an election being watch around the world.

Trump won office in 2016 pledging to stop illegal immigration from Mexico and insisted that Mexico will pay for the border wall he is building between the two countries. 

While in office, Trump has pursued a right-wing populist approach, denouncing “globalism” and focusing US foreign policy around an “America First” worldview.

The Trump administration has also helped broker deals between close US ally Israel and three Arab states, abandoned international agreements that Trump portrayed as unfair to the United States, alienated longtime allies, and praised authoritarian foreign leaders.

In addition, his administration’s “maximum pressure” campaign toward Iran has put sanctions on everything from oil revenue to minerals and Iran’s central bank, but has not forced a change of behavior by Tehran or brought it back to negotiations on the nuclear deal that Trump pulled the US out of in 2018. Instead, tensions continue to escalate.

These are some of the foreign policy issues that are top of mind for American voters as the election nears. The World’s correspondents have covered these issues in-depth over the past four years.

In a conversation moderated by The World’s Daisy Contreras, correspondents, Shirin Jaafari, who covers the Middle East, and Jorge Valencia, who covers Latin America based in Mexico City, address the nuances of US policy toward Iran, Afghanistan, Venezuela, Mexico and Brazil during the Trump administration. They also discussed what’s at stake in the 2020 election for the countries in their regions of expertise.

Reuters contributed to this report.