The economy is broken and will not go back to what it was. So will people “fish in turbulent waters?” Of course. As if the people who have the president’s ear haven’t! But things were broken way before the virus came to Panama, and whatever the coming economic demands the basic issues won’t be fixed unless we deal with old prejudices and problems. Photo from Twitter.
Reality is ruthless
by Miguel Antonio Bernal
The budget must be balanced, the treasury must be replenished, the public debt must be diminished, the arrogance of public officials must be moderated and controlled, and aid to other countries must be eliminated, so that Rome does not go bankrupt. People must learn anew to work instead of living at the expense of the State.
Marcus Tullius Cicero, 55 BC
Lumpempresidentialism continues to wreak havoc upon our country. Down to a science, it plays upon the patience of a majority of the population who, ignorant of their rights as human beings, has fallen into the clutches of a mediocre and dictatorial government.
The pandemic’s arrival accelerated the crises through which we had been slogging. With it came the manipulation of minds weakened disuse and easily stunned. Today, the fear of freedom is compounded not only by the fear of democracy, but also the fear of education and the fear of culture.
Little analyzed here is the hidden face of presidential power, each day more aristocratic, authoritarian and autocratic. President Cortizo’s “speech” in Coclesito on July 31, with his untouchable vice president beside him, went beyond the symbolism of the environment. It was revealing in the spiteful venting of its content. He contemptuously questioned those who criticize him, spoke of “hidden agendas” and “dark motives,” and threatened: “After the pandemic passes, we will face …”
However, the disenchantment and social discontent do not stop. It may be confined and atomized by an isolation increasingly linked to the prevailing inequality. But more and more sectors of the population are beginning to react to the economic and social crisis as something caused and fueled, not by the pandemic, but by the corruption, impunity and mediocrity of the political parties and their abandonment of education, health and public safety.
No matter how ruthless this imposed reality is, we have to react. Yes, we have to be demanding of ourselves. We have to repudiate those who deceive, subjugate and mistreat us with all their means so that we do not protest, so that we remain silent before their ruthless actions.
It’s also necessary to remind those who come out of the caves of the political parties and the new political upstarts who, without knowing or wanting civil liberties, only aspire to enjoy the privileges that emanate from the administration of the treasury: No matter how much they seek to avoid it, the Constituent Assembly is, despite their desire for a detour around it, the road that people are seeking.
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