Following a vein that has given excellent returns, the portal Post he published a recording – obtained secretly, of course – of the speech of Cecilia Velasque, the sub-coordinator of Pachakutik. There, referring to what should be the negotiations with the Government, she says that she does not want to accept that she is considered a “coffee raisin” and adds “they give me the whole portfolio or nothing”. According to the digital portal, this would be evidence of buying the votes of parliamentarians by the Government in order to avoid the removal of the President of the Republic through impeachment. The complaint and the alleged fact are ideal pieces for thinking about both the media’s behavior and the way politics is conducted in our environment.

Reprehensible ‘mockery’ of politics

Regarding this last aspect, which is fundamental, it should be noted that in a truly democratic regime, where there are different parties that compete but also cooperate, the words of that political leader would not be strange. In a crisis situation such as the current one, which can lead to the premature end of not only the presidential mandate, but also the mandate of the representatives, the least traumatic option would be the formation of a coalition government. The participation of one or more parties in the ministerial cabinet would pave the way for the achievement of three goals that would strengthen democracy. First, it would at least partially reflect the political diversity of the national scene, which would also assign clear responsibilities to each of its members. Second, it would avoid going through a long and traumatic period of transition that would begin with the application of the so-called “death on the cross” or by succeeding the vice president. Third, and above all, it would produce a radical change in the orientation of government policy, since those who would undertake to participate would do so on the condition that they put social goals first.

Obviously, it is alien to our reality. The bet of the opposition, be it left or right, indicates the failure of the government. This is what we have seen, with very few exceptions, since the beginning of the democratic period. History can be repeated more easily now, when the government is weaker than those that were overthrown by coups and therefore can fall with a light blow.

electric vacuums

For that same story, it is necessary to consider the role of the media. As on previous occasions, many of them feed the tendency to confrontation, fan the flames of polarization and act as sounding boards to discredit politicians. In short, they feed the anti-politics that are the breeding ground of populism, savior leaders and heavy-handed ones. They do not consider that their role, rather than searching for news, knowledge and sensationalism, could be a help in finding a solution. In particular, in a situation like the current one, they could imagine moderately intelligent questions that make political actors think that there are other solutions. (OR)