Federico Reyes Heroles
To P.O.M.
Some sayings give wisdom. They do it briefly and punctually. The Royal Academy has defined them precisely: “A sharp and sententious saying in common use”. There are sayings for all subjects: “A bird in the hand is better than a hundred in the air”, loaded with pragmatism. Also of what pretends to be amorous realism: “A nail pulls out another nail”. But proverbs -which enjoy an excellent reputation- can also be pure poison.
There are many contradictions: “It’s the intention that counts” versus “Hell is full of good intentions”. Or: “The early bird catches the worm” versus “Not because you get up early, the sun rises earlier”. There are sayings that, in certain situations, call for conformism: ” It is better the known bad than the good to be known”. Sonia Díaz, a Spanish psychology specialist, warns of the risks. Proverbs are not a code of ethics.
To govern with sayings is irresponsible. For example, in the face of the evident, gross, and scandalous increase in corruption, they could tell us, “Everywhere there are white beans in the oven.”
The President frequently resorts to a prevalent saying: “Love is repaid with love”. It is in the Bible, Saint Matthew 6:1; 6:16-18. José Martí also used it. The religious charge of these words is enormous: if God showed his love with Creation, he must be repaid with love. “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself” could also be the touchstone of liberal empathy. The “tropicalized” version is a 1950 movie with Marga Lopez and Lilia Prado. Jorge Negrete and Pedro Vargas sang the song. In other words, the President frequently launches a saying that dwells in the memory of many Mexicans. Hence the gravity of his invocation.
As we all know, the government uses social programs in a personalized way, and they did away with the institutions in charge of the support to replace them with their own die. The saying “do good and don’t look at whom” was not followed. On the contrary, the criterion is clearly electoral. Hence, the threats as propaganda; the opposition would remove the endorsements, they say. But they are in the Constitution. The ones who want to change it are the President and his accomplices. “Love with love is repaid” can be interpreted as a generous gift that depends on the Supreme. The message is not made explicit. The money granted comes from Mexicans’ contributions and used to be part of an evaluable social policy, which was perfecting this type of transfers: from Solidaridad to Prospera. In the evaluations of the programs, Coneval and others show that the current programs have had a regressive effect, that is, they benefit more those who have more.
But let’s go back to the saying.
Should the rulers love their people? Well, it depends on whom: the philanthropic organizations that today are persecuted for tax purposes and that carry out activities beyond the reach of the State? I would say that, in any case, they should respect them, but to love them is messianic. Loving the drug traffickers is perverse. We know that the support is available to around 23 million households. What loving payment is expected from them? To vote for Morena? That is a call to indignity. Mexicans should vote in total freedom, without moral coercion disguised as famous sayings. Let them collect their money and vote in conscience, without pressure.
That is why Guadalupe Acosta Naranjo’s proposal to leave cell phones outside the polling place, to leave them with our credentials, to show our freedom, is very pertinent. Currently, there is no way for the polling station authorities to demand it. But dignity weighs.
Nothing that “the end justifies the means”.
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