Alentado por la poca audiencia que sin duda tiene este blog en estos tiempos en que hay tantas cosas interesantes por leer ahí arriba en las redes sociales, los sitios en línea y los grandes portales de noticias, y bajo el riesgo de que quien la lea pueda tomarme por un facineroso amigo de las revueltas, el socialismo o el mamertismo, como los que hacen tambalear a las dictaduras del mundo árabe, me voy a permitir hacer una crítica de la democracia participativa en una sociedad corrompida y embelesada por las luces fulgurantes del poder, la ignorancia y la falta de oportunidades.
La crítica es puntual, y seguramente ha sido ya expuesta con mejores argumentos por algún académico de la democracia y las sociedades. Hela aquí: creo que la democracia participativa, en tanto método de elección de gobernantes, no garantiza de ninguna manera la elección de los mejores, sobre todo en aquellas democracias donde el sufragio es manipulado a través de medios parcializados, prebendas o incluso intimidación violenta, y por lo tanto, no garantiza las mejores condiciones para los electores. Esta crítica, que parece obvia, implica también que el apoyo popular no puede ser un escudo que permita el abuso de poder y evite la crítica.
En nuestros días y en el pasado se ha esgrimido enfáticamente el argumento de que la mayoría electoral le da al gobernante de turno la potestad para hacer lo que le venga en gana, o al menos invulnerabilidad frente a justas críticas a su gestión. Lo vimos hace siete décadas en Alemania, lo vemos hoy en las democracias de Próximo Oriente donde las elecciones presidenciales son una farsa para reivindicar en el poder al gran señor que lleva sentado en la poltrona presidencial las últimas cinco o seis décadas. Lo vemos en Colombia, cuando basados en su éxito electoral, nuestros presidentes tratan de imponernos un estado de opinión según el cual el apoyo del pueblo (al que previamente se le ha comprado su voto) es el constituyente básico -y sobre todo incuestionable- de las leyes de una nación.
Por supuesto, tan pronto como el apoyo popular se esfuma, ya no es necesariamente la voluntad popular la que cuenta a la hora de manejar los más altos asuntos del estado. El pueblo deja de ser el constituyente básico del que emanan todas las leyes y todos lo poderes, tan pronto como, aún aturdido, despierta de un largo letargo y lanza una patada desestabilizadora. Entonces lo mejor que el presidente demócrata encuentra para conjurar la crisis es intimidar a las hordas con la fuerza de los tanques y las bombas, amenazarlos con una guerra civil, o simplemente vociferar que se trata de propaganda patrocinadora de los terroristas. Porque el pueblo, para muchos de esos egregios dirigentes que desde arriba intentan sentar cátedra de autoridad moral, no es el pueblo como tal, sino el pueblo que se inclina ante sus demandas. O están conmigo o están contra mí. Los demás, por supuesto, son terrorista vestidos de civil.
A Silvio Berlusconi, ese emprendedor hombre de negocios que ha ejercido la Presidencia del Consejo de Ministros de Italia en tres ocasiones, lo vi ayer en varios videos de archivo que circulan en internet. Lo escuché frente el Parlamento Europeo comparando a un diputado del Partido Socialista alemán con un oficial de la SS Nazi, porque el germano se atrevió a cuestionar el manejo de la política interna italiana que tenía repercusiones a nivel europeo. Lo escuché diciendo que aquellos que no votaban por él, a quienes él se refiere indistintamente como "la sinistra", eran unos imbéciles. Pero lo que más me sorprendió fue verlo ironizando acerca de los llamados "vuelos de la muerte" durante la dictadura argentina a finales de los 70s. Dijo que "la sinistra" lo queria comparar con el dictador argentino que llevaba a los opositores en un avión y que cuando estaban sobre el mar lanzaba una pelota al vacío y les decía a estos contradictores que fueran a jugar con ella. Quien conozca la verdadera historia de los macabros vuelos de la muerte encontrará sin duda que el chiste de este carismático lombardo es bastante repugnante. La cosa sería tal vez más tolerable si Italia fuera bajo la égida de Berlusconi un modelo a seguir. Pero con sus niveles de desempleo y corrupción, está muy lejos de serlo:
http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vuelos_de_la_muerte
Uno que seguramente conoce muy bien la historia de los vuelos de la muerte es Adolfo Pérez Esquivel, premio Nobel de paz en 1980 que fue duramente perseguido durante la dictadura de Videla en Argentina. A este estudioso de varios conflictos en el mundo le acaban de llover copiosos insultos por parte de otro carismático y electoralmente victorioso líder quien se sintió ofendido por los señalamientos de Pérez Esquivel sobre el conflicto colombiano. Fiel a la ya mencionada máxima según la cual quien difiere de tus opiniones es tu enemigo, el ex presidente de Colombia, Alvaro Uribe, ha llamado a Pérez Esquivel un promotor del terrorismo. No sé cuántas veces ha respondido Uribe con insultos a quien osa cuestionarlo. Tampoco sé cuántos más lo hacen, seguramente mucchos, de derecha, de izquierda, o de cualquier intención política. Pero esto me sirve para ejemplificar cómo la democracia participativa en una sociedad corrompida, lejos de crear líderes ejemplares, lo que crea es egos incontrolables que terminan por reaccionar como gatas en celo frente a toda forma de crítica, y lo que es peor, a asumir como cierto que su pensamiento ha de ser Ley.
Los hechos en Medio Oriente están demostrando que el apoyo popular es algo mucho más efímero de lo que desearían aquellos que alguna vez llegaron a acariciar la idea de perpetuarse en el poder, y que al final lo que queda son las acciones que cada presidente decidió ejercer usando ese poder conferido por el aturdido pueblo para mantenerse en el poder, o para hacer uso de él en beneficio propio. No hay razón entonces para no criticar a un Presidente cuando se tienen razones morales o de principios para hacerlo, aún si su popularidad es más grande incluso que su propio ego. No hay razón entonces para no exigir que la democracia participativa en nuestros paises venga acompañada de un verdadero cambio social y educativo que ponga al elector a la altura de los retos que la sociedad le impone. De lo contrario, elegir a un Uribe es siempre potencialmente tan peligroso como elegir a un Gaddafi.
martes, febrero 22, 2011
miércoles, febrero 02, 2011
News from Egypt
From D****, a good friend of mine living in Cairo. Judge yourselves.
=======================================================
Dear ALL,
Thnx to all of you concerned! Me and my family are all fine. except for the extreme exhaustion, psychological stress and anger, we are all fine. My sister is the one who goes to demonstrations in Tahrir square all the time. I don't go, because I lose my temper already in gas stations when some jack ass says "and did these young protesters ask any of us if we want these demos, now look at the chaos they made"...I swore at him, my parents holding me back in the car and then from inside the car showed him the finger. I donated blood and stay on phones all day long and cook and help at home waiting for the demonstrators, my sis and some of her friends who also from time to time stay in our house to come back.
This is not the end and he has to leave. Is a president who let 6000 prisoners out of prison looking for any peace in this country???? NO!!! but he is smart, he is one of the smartest jack asses on earth, he caused anarchy, scared the shit out of all families and everybody who did not go out in the street and reached the stage that so many people are now saying "No, but look we need to tolerate him until the next elections and he will not candidate himself, but at least he will restore order and we were safe in our houses when he was there"
RIGHT!!!! and that is exactly what he wanted to reach. Is a president who send his party out to the streets RIGHT NOW calling for Mubarak to candidate himself for a 6th presidency period, looking for any peace, or democracy?? How can 6000 prisoners "ESCAPE""""" at the same time, same night, same moment, if nobody did INTENTIONALLY let them out???????????
he caused anarchy, fear among citizens and everybody, we collect water in our bath tubs, buy food to keep us going for a few weeks and things in supermarkets are from 1LE to 4 LE now. BUT, he succeeded in reaching a point where all want him back, because at least we felt safe in our homes and did not have our sons, neighbors, cousins and male friends out in the street with iron sticks, self defense and electric shockers to protect our properties and lives.
Problem is that none of the oppositional leaders is taking any clear stand point to that, those young people protesting now need a leader to look up to, but opposition are very slow in their statements and responses, they r losing credibility. Except for the Muslim Brotherhood , which is another problem and nobody really wants them either, but they r the only ones against the current "still" regime now, who are taking a clear stand to things now.
How it really all started was that these facebook Youth , how they are referred to now, have been mobilizing themselves for years on facebook, but were not taken serious, or were tortured, arrested and interrogated, they are the ones who started the movements on the 25th and the 28th of January, which escalated to what it is now. It escalated ,because these facebook youth belong to the well-off classes in Egypt; the intellectuals. When THESE WERE THERE, THEY BROKE THE FEAR OF THE MILLIONS WHO HAVE BEEN OPPRESSED, LIVING UNDER EXTREME POVERTY AND CONDITIONS!!!! AND THESE ARE THE ONES WHO CANNOT BE STOPPED NOW!!
many of them already lost family members in the past few days and they are willing to shed more blood and sacrifice more lives if he does not step down. It is now a bottom-up movement and this is what's makes it dangerous, these people would lose all , but not live int he same Egypt under the same regime again and even me, as somebody who practically speaking did not suffer much under this regime, I DO BELIEVE HE JUST HAS TO LEAVE, OR DIE HERE, BUT WE DO NOT TRUST HIM ANYMORE, WHY WOULD HE CHANGE OVER NIGHT AND BRINGING THE MINISTERS HE KEPT FOR HIS SON'S REGIME NOW, IS NOT A SOLUTION!!!!!!!
I and many others do not know what to think anymore, we know if he just leaves it will be chaos and we know if he stays, he will become worth than before, but we do not trust him, nor his nice words "WORDS AND SPEAKING IS WHAT EGYPTIANS HAVE BEEN PERFECT AT FOR AGES" , but people are aware fo that now and do not listen without questioning. still we have millions out in the streets who never had adequate education and do not understand the problem of not having a respected leader to look up to now. we wait for the opposition, but hope it will not be the Muslim Brotherhood.
=======================================================
Dear ALL,
Thnx to all of you concerned! Me and my family are all fine. except for the extreme exhaustion, psychological stress and anger, we are all fine. My sister is the one who goes to demonstrations in Tahrir square all the time. I don't go, because I lose my temper already in gas stations when some jack ass says "and did these young protesters ask any of us if we want these demos, now look at the chaos they made"...I swore at him, my parents holding me back in the car and then from inside the car showed him the finger. I donated blood and stay on phones all day long and cook and help at home waiting for the demonstrators, my sis and some of her friends who also from time to time stay in our house to come back.
This is not the end and he has to leave. Is a president who let 6000 prisoners out of prison looking for any peace in this country???? NO!!! but he is smart, he is one of the smartest jack asses on earth, he caused anarchy, scared the shit out of all families and everybody who did not go out in the street and reached the stage that so many people are now saying "No, but look we need to tolerate him until the next elections and he will not candidate himself, but at least he will restore order and we were safe in our houses when he was there"
RIGHT!!!! and that is exactly what he wanted to reach. Is a president who send his party out to the streets RIGHT NOW calling for Mubarak to candidate himself for a 6th presidency period, looking for any peace, or democracy?? How can 6000 prisoners "ESCAPE""""" at the same time, same night, same moment, if nobody did INTENTIONALLY let them out???????????
he caused anarchy, fear among citizens and everybody, we collect water in our bath tubs, buy food to keep us going for a few weeks and things in supermarkets are from 1LE to 4 LE now. BUT, he succeeded in reaching a point where all want him back, because at least we felt safe in our homes and did not have our sons, neighbors, cousins and male friends out in the street with iron sticks, self defense and electric shockers to protect our properties and lives.
Problem is that none of the oppositional leaders is taking any clear stand point to that, those young people protesting now need a leader to look up to, but opposition are very slow in their statements and responses, they r losing credibility. Except for the Muslim Brotherhood , which is another problem and nobody really wants them either, but they r the only ones against the current "still" regime now, who are taking a clear stand to things now.
How it really all started was that these facebook Youth , how they are referred to now, have been mobilizing themselves for years on facebook, but were not taken serious, or were tortured, arrested and interrogated, they are the ones who started the movements on the 25th and the 28th of January, which escalated to what it is now. It escalated ,because these facebook youth belong to the well-off classes in Egypt; the intellectuals. When THESE WERE THERE, THEY BROKE THE FEAR OF THE MILLIONS WHO HAVE BEEN OPPRESSED, LIVING UNDER EXTREME POVERTY AND CONDITIONS!!!! AND THESE ARE THE ONES WHO CANNOT BE STOPPED NOW!!
many of them already lost family members in the past few days and they are willing to shed more blood and sacrifice more lives if he does not step down. It is now a bottom-up movement and this is what's makes it dangerous, these people would lose all , but not live int he same Egypt under the same regime again and even me, as somebody who practically speaking did not suffer much under this regime, I DO BELIEVE HE JUST HAS TO LEAVE, OR DIE HERE, BUT WE DO NOT TRUST HIM ANYMORE, WHY WOULD HE CHANGE OVER NIGHT AND BRINGING THE MINISTERS HE KEPT FOR HIS SON'S REGIME NOW, IS NOT A SOLUTION!!!!!!!
I and many others do not know what to think anymore, we know if he just leaves it will be chaos and we know if he stays, he will become worth than before, but we do not trust him, nor his nice words "WORDS AND SPEAKING IS WHAT EGYPTIANS HAVE BEEN PERFECT AT FOR AGES" , but people are aware fo that now and do not listen without questioning. still we have millions out in the streets who never had adequate education and do not understand the problem of not having a respected leader to look up to now. we wait for the opposition, but hope it will not be the Muslim Brotherhood.
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