I confess I’m fascinated by Guatemala and El Salvador right now. As we write today, Guatemala’s new president is a triumph of democratic principles. And as we’ve written before, its neighbor has embraced a populist strongman. What gives?

The Monitor looks at the world to find universal lessons, so I asked our Whitney Eulich, and I learned something. In some ways, she says, voters in each country have “won.” Guatemala faces poverty and inequality. El Salvador faces rampant gang violence. Each president addresses those concerns in his own way.

It reminds us how well democracies reflect voters’ desires, and encourages us to think about that connection more deeply.