If the goal was to talk about them, they succeeded. As soon as the propaganda of the correista candidacy circulated, social networks were flooded with cute stuffed sheep or any other soft and moldable material. Opinions (not theirs, because as sheep they have no power or authority to give an opinion) were divided between those who saw it as a skillful communication strategy of the campaign and those who took it as a confession and contempt for the militants themselves. The first, supported by a theory that someone told them, claimed that it was a form of resignification, that is, a way of turning a derogatory adjective into something positive. But, as was immediately seen, it didn’t work out that way.

Resignification has been working since time immemorial, when no one imagined that theories of communication would be created to explain this and other mass phenomena. Christians who were obedient to sacrifice were an example of the transposition of the negative term (and which became risky) by which they were denounced. In a more recent era, the Paris students of the famous May 1968 did the same when they all introduced themselves to German Jews, a derogatory way of disqualifying university head Daniel Cohn Bendit by one of the authorities.

In these and many other cases, the adjective had a derogatory meaning because of the value judgment assigned to it by the person who uttered it. It was a way to negatively assess the state of the aforementioned. In other words, a trait or trait of a person or group of people has become an insult. This made it not only very easy for these people to resign, but it was an excellent way to consolidate their identity and strengthen their position. The same can even be said for historically used qualifiers, such as rebels, agitators, subversives or – closer to our recent experience – outlaws. There was a component of identity in all of them, and above all they had an active character that was ideal for encouraging mobilization.

None of these features were found in the sheep qualifier. On the contrary, the term is used as a synonym for docile, timid, submissive, worn, despondent, clumsy, ignorant and a number of qualifiers that indicate the absence of thought and will. It is not surprising that the leaders decided to use it for campaigning, because they have always established a vertical line. Decisions, in the form of orders, go from the leader who sees everything and knows everything to the masses who must comply, listen and applaud. All this subject, of course, as the current president of the movement claims.

But after a few days, the same nets that were crowded with friendly and fluffy sheep, spread the lapidary scene of Lisa Simpson, always a friend of noble causes, shearing one of these little animals to free it of thick wool. With surprise and disgust, he sees the real specimen that was under that skin and finds another of the truths hidden in the quiet life of Springfield with Homer as an archetype. (OR)