Beware of the Colombian Snake
A snake’s behavior is hypnotizing. It ambushes its prey, mimics sounds, or imitates movements, like a worm, to lure it closer. Then comes the trap and the kill. Politicians, philosophers, gurus, preachers, and businesspeople often exhibit this behavior. They brag about their limited knowledge and use their eloquence to mumble and juggle words, creating a dizzying, numbing effect upon us: the mob, the clients, the followers.
Take Gustavo Petro, Colombia’s current president. He is the first “progressive" politician to lead the country’s administration. His career has spanned from the ancient M-19 guerrilla movement to the Senate, then the Bogotá Mayor’s office, and finally the presidency. What a career, isn’t it? He’s well known for his philosophical debates and long lectures on progressive ideals. Nonetheless, in the field of public administration, he falters. Just to name a couple: the trash collection system in Bogotá during his mandate was a complete failure, and during his current presidency, he has mismanaged the public budget, leaving thousands of public employees with terminated contracts long before their deadlines; not to mention the corruption behind his campaign budget (we’ve to talk with his son). Where did all that money go? Public relations, seemingly, rather than progress or welfare. Not to mention that violence has peaked again while he promotes “Total Peace", which, in reality, looks more like “Total Polarization."
Furthermore, the unfolding “Colombian Anaconda" (with all due respect to that majestic animal) has committed several misleading acts. He was seen shouting in the middle of a street in New York, calling for the U.S. military to disobey Donald Trump. Though, there’re many ways to outsmart autocratic and bully-like minds, but for a “snake" like him, it could’ve be like hunting a cow inside its stable.
More recently, this “progressive snake" has given talks and interviews that suggest a mental breakdown, yet many (like the old Roger Waters) still praise his ideas over the facts. In an interview with Daniel Coronell, Petro claimed he wanted to be remembered like Simón Bolívar or be as great as Alexander the Great (no one sees the delusion of grandeur here). As time passed, he began asserting “historical facts" about Jesus and his sex life with Mary Magdalene, seemingly just to highlight his own prowess. Before his visit to the U.S., he even sent Trump a message suggesting he works better with alcohol. One can only imagine him, completely drunk, calling Melania and telling her to stop obeying Trump!
It’s frustrating though to watch populist leaders take advantage of people's needs just to spout nonsense, pretending to be the universe’s savior while spending public money to buff their own images. It happens on the right, the left, the center, and among ecologists, everywhere. Why? This "savior" image, the messiah, the ultimate drop of heaven, is the boiler where the snake cooks us. We become the naïve and soft animals (as Roger Waters did), poisoned by ideals of holistic progress that are, in reality, just venom.
