I can’t get past the image of an upset, out-of-control candidate, scowling, cursing and hurling insults, disqualifying anyone who thinks differently from him, the candidate who will probably be the next president of Argentina, Javier Milei (he will face the Peronist Sergio Massa in the second round).

A friend who lives in the south gave me a sense of fatigue and frustration, although she is aware of what this guy represents, she decided to risk everything for a change and vote for him.

In an article, Jaime Durán Barba refers to the fact that many voters vote for Milei because he announces that he intends to make a radical change. They are not enthusiastic about their proposals, but quite the opposite: they believe that they are the ones who question traditional politics the most. These are the roars of the lion that comes to dynamize the system.

This makes me remember different moments in the region and in Ecuador, where we lived in a political pendulum, it seems that the way is never found, so we decide to discard more of it and bet, in any case, on a new opportunity, it goes like this, with from one side to the other, disrupting stability and long-term projects.

The fascination with the promise of change in political rhetoric is a symptom of a democracy in constant search for its own reinvention. Zygmunt Bauman speaks of modernity as a state of constant transition, where promises of change serve as psychological anchors that offer a false sense of control and progress.

The problem is that in our storytelling societies, change means everything and nothing. Projects are difficult to choose in elections, voting is done with a clean slate. A voice that represents hope sustained in disappointment and mistrust, which can be an act of faith or revenge.

A pleasant vote, where the citizen separates himself from responsibilities and obligations, waiting for the messiah to save him and give him a quick solution to his problems.

I’ve read various studies that describe this phenomenon as a reality that is hard to change, but it’s just as comfortable to assume that apocalyptic diagnosis.

One way to deal with this situation is to question the skills of citizens.

We have to think of some other education for new times, the one we have is obviously not working. We cannot be satisfied and conditioned by rankings and results in mathematics and science.

There is a noticeable deficiency in our education in promoting critical thinking, rational evaluation and constructive skepticism. Education is not only a process of imparting knowledge, but also a social practice that prepares citizens for conscious participation in democratic life. We must learn to question and understand the long-term impact of political decisions. Only then can we hope that the seductiveness of the promise of change will give way to informed and rational choice.

The solution is not in the candidate, but in the citizen, that is change. (OR)