Global Courant 2023-05-05 11:05:40
The fall has been gradual, but no less hard for that. The chronicle of each announced disaster always begins with the same symptoms: privileges for the inevitable rosca of upstarts, waste of resources, the encouragement of polarization as a distractor, prolongation of opaque inertia and dedicated hiring; exchanging the great priorities of human development —essentially education and health— for increasingly filthy pacts and, perhaps worst of all, belittling the intelligence of the citizenry, but above all, swinging on their needs, cries and hopes.
It is certain that the Free Survey will have new detractors in a government that, with the support of the legislative alliance, has allocated large pockets of resources for mayor patronage, for inefficient road repair, to try to buy the will of older adults with economic bonds and of alleged ex-militaries already divided among themselves by the amount of the extortion charge. But with everything and the excuses, the histrionics, the distribution of blame, the exhibitionist ministers and the choruses on social networks, citizen disapproval for an administration in its last year reaches all-time highs.
That is why no candidate should claim victory, just as no candidate should rant or describe the figures as “false” simply because they don’t match their sick ego or their combo of sycophants. The Free Poll is a public research and dissemination service about electoral preferences registered in a specific period, which may vary according to incidents, disclosures, contradictions or renewal of strategies and proposals to the citizenry.
It is not about changing some unfounded offers for others, or changing the color of the clothing of this or that applicant. That was done in the contests of 2003, 2007, 2011, 2015, 2019, and here we are with a Guatemalan citizenry dominated by discouragement and mistrust. The proverbial optimism of always wore away based on defaults, sudden millionaires in each period, extortion and continuous murders, dilapidated schools and hospitals whose equipment is carried out fraudulently. That discourages anyone, and that is why all decent candidates must see themselves in the mirror of the administrations of Otto Pérez Molina, Jimmy Morales and Alejandro Giammattei Falla, to stop repeating the same mistakes.
It is not that the citizens are nihilists; The Catholic and Evangelical churches are the institutions that arouse the greatest trust, because they feed faith, exalt goodness and guide the heart. But that is far from the invocations of the holy name of God in vain in which so many politicians, deputies and civil servants incur to show off a piety that does not translate into coherent actions. Teachers and Army are also perceived as trustworthy. In other times, entities such as the Supreme Electoral Tribunal appeared as bastions of credibility, but today said entity appears in the segment of distrust, together with trade unionists, political parties and representatives, in the basement of skepticism.
An inter-party agreement is needed to outline five priorities 30 years from now: education, competitiveness, nutrition, health and comprehensive security. Bellowing slogans and calling rallies with profanity orators is more of the same, or worse. Guatemalans, let’s see ourselves in the mirror.
Candidates: look in the mirror
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