It happened a few years ago. It was election time. A priest friend of mine, a pastor in an area characterized by poverty, called me and told me that some residents of the neighborhood had asked him to tell them who to vote for. At that time, it was about electing representatives (current parliamentarians), as the members of the legislative power were called. Of course, my friend told them that he couldn’t do it, that it was a personal and free decision, but he asked me if I could somehow help. I told them that I can’t tell them who to vote for either, but that I can work with them so that they know what the representatives are doing and have the elements for a decision.

The time has come for you to do so; time: eight in the evening, when they arrived from their workplaces, which were mostly not very close. The first thing I did was to ask them what the deputy does; There was a moment of silence, until the older woman raised her hand and said, “They’re in control.” The questions and silence continued, until the same woman said, “I think they’re going to call them and maybe they’re going to throw them away.” It was the beginning of explaining the power of political control that legislators had and still have. After a few questions I got the impression that they were clear.

Then the question was: what else do they do? There was no answer and an explanation was needed.

We talked about some examples until, apparently, it became clear that “the laws worked”, as one of the attendees said. We also gave examples of what they could not do because it was not their responsibility and they did not have the means to do it; I insisted that those were its only functions.

In order to check whether I had passed on the necessary knowledge, I asked other questions and all of them were answered correctly, except for the last one: “If the candidate for deputy offered you to pave the street, would you vote for him?” ” The answer was almost unanimous, yes. I argued “but you already know he’s lying because he can’t, it’s not among his powers. But “at least it offers” was the reply.

Will we ever have politicians who will consider this a priority and act accordingly?

I left dejected, it was obvious that they understood the concepts while we were dealing with them, but that they refuse to apply them to reality. In other words, they placed their hope in promises, which were only words.

This is the same thing that happens today, with the difference that the fraud comes to them in a more sophisticated way and is much more powerful. The question in this case is: what kind of human being is he who manipulates the desires of the people he claims to serve? Will someone who uses the poverty and ignorance of his fellow citizens to gain and retain power do anything to combat this bitter reality?

Years have passed, and we are the same or worse than yesterday. Democracy requires citizens with the ability to analyze, who have the courage to choose freely, who participate in building a common future, and not just suffer for it. Will we ever have politicians who will consider this a priority and act accordingly? (OR)