Jacques Bossuet (1627-1704) was a prominent French priest and intellectual; defender of the theory of the divine origin of power to justify the absolutism of Louis XIV. In his posthumous work Politics according to the Holy Scriptures (1709), he points out: “God appointed kings as his ministers and through them he reigns over the people (…). Princes act as God’s ministers and deputies on earth. God implements his kingdom through them. Therefore, the royal throne is not the throne of man but of God himself. It follows from all this that the king’s person is sacred and that an attack on him is sacrilege.”

Incae for the world

In Spain, “Francisco Franco Caudillo of Spain by the grace of God” ruled for 36 years with an iron hand. Likewise, an example of a providential being “sent to earth by God” is Adolf Hitler, who referred to his divine origin in several of his speeches.

In the Reichstag on December 11, 1941, he said: “If providence wanted the German people not to be spared from this struggle, then I want to thank you for entrusting me with the leadership of this historic struggle, which for the next few 500 or 1000 years will decisively shape not only our German history, but also the history of Europe and even the whole world. The Creator entrusted us with a historical vision of unprecedented breadth.”

Totalitarianism and the press

On August 1, 1951, the newspaper Die Gegenwart said in its editorial: “Hitler could not have caused the damage he did if he had not possessed an extraordinary ability to suggest and deceive people. This is what is surprising, that there are people so depraved that, under the appearance of being divine, and with the adornment of smiles, tears and the apparent language of the heart, they know how to capture the sympathy and will of others. to lead them to the hecatomb. Hitler knew how to awaken the most ideal feelings in youth by pressing the psychological springs that move a person. He knew how to be kind and attractive at the right moment, devoting himself with ferocity and passion to the artistic construction of the dream of a new and brilliant Germany. He was capable of experiencing great feelings or, at least, knew how to simulate them, in order to achieve his goals. And often his heart overflowed, overflowing with great projects and lofty intentions. That’s why he became what he really was.”

Large vacancy. Large vacancy

Once in power, dictators silence the free press, co-opt the armed forces and the judicial system; They relentlessly pursue their opponents; They apply repression, terror and Gebelian propaganda. These messianic dictators justify their indefinite stay in power because they believe they matter and cannot leave “their work unfinished.”

In Latin America, the list and history of dictators is long: Trujillo, Stroessner, Videla, Pinochet, Batista, Somozas, Duvaliers, Castros, etc., and the latest: Chávez, Maduro, Ortega, Morales, some ready to return and stay forever, even if it is not by the grace of God, like Rafael Correa. Fortunately, many of those named are buried in the dustbin of history. (OR)