By: Jaime Alberto Arrubla Paucar
This first of May, workers’ day, was accompanied by certain exotic situations that are well worth commenting on.
In the first place, the fiery presidential speech from the Nariño Palace drew attention, where the people were harangued and urged to mobilize to defend the reforms proposed by the Government for health, pensions, work, etc. There is even talk of a revolution if necessary to move them forward and prevent the privileged people from always preventing their materialization. The presidential peroration drew attention, not only because of its sectarian nature, but also because of the real and true scope of her call.
The heated presidential speech has been the subject of all kinds of comments, as if it were the end of our democratic system. I believe that all the Presidents of the Republic seek to be in tune with the people that elected them and, furthermore, to whom they owe themselves, in many different ways. Some go to daily television locutions, others hold regional meetings on weekends; the current one, he prefers it more comfortable, from the same presidential headquarters. Which of these could be the most effective in achieving the communication task? We’ll see; if they are measured by attendance, I think that none can win first place; people are tired of promises and politicking.
Such strong comments required clarification the next day from Spain, where the President is attending a state visit, and he clarified that the popular defense of his controversial reforms must be peaceful, despite the enthusiasm of his speech that gave rise to multiple interpretations, warning that “restricting them can generate a revolution”.
Now, the reality is that governing, rather than haranguing, is achieving consensus among the opposites, especially in a society as divided as Colombia, as evidenced in the last elections, when the current President, with great difficulty, barely surpassed the 50% of the votes. The timid presence of the people summoned to listen to the balconazo, is an indicator precisely that the aforementioned consensus is required and that the best way to carry out the reforms is to arrange them, and this means giving in and not imposing.
More striking was the speech of the Vice President from the city of Cali, congratulating the members of the front line for their second anniversary of the atrocities committed against the police, public and private assets, the lives of sick Colombians who could not reach to health centers due to blockades, etc. The political cost caused by her transport by helicopter to her place of residence, citing security reasons; now she will have to add the lack of opportunity for her words, ingratiating herself with the vandals who were about to cause the debacle in the midst of a pandemic. A 20th century politician said: “Whoever doesn’t like gloves, don’t get on the rim”; but do not take as an excuse for your waste something that is inherent to the exercise of public office: the risks.