17 March 2010

La FUERZA de un nuevo LIDER

Some of the billboards and mottos used in the election campaign have made me feel uneasy. One case is the motto used by Raymundo Méndez Bechara, now elected to the house of representatives from Córdoba. His billboards, posters and other material repeats "La FUERZA de un nuevo LIDER" [The POWER of a new LEADER]. I have not looked for an opportunity to ask him where he got the idea.

Méndez Bechara was elected to represent "La U", the biggest of the three right wing parties in the new congress majority. The party leader, Juan Santos is presidential candidate with a good chance of being elected. He has invited the former trade union leader Angelino Garzón to be his vice president, and he has today appointed rightwing Rodrigo Rivera Salazar to be in charge of the campaign. This is quite confusing, but perhaps a brilliant tactical draw: alliance with "leftist" Garzón and the hardliner lawyer Rivera. Until few days ago, Rivera was still a possible presidential candidate for PIN ("the party of the shadows").

Fragmented impressions help to build up an image of reality. The picture with Mussolini looking up and right, towards the light, seen from below with shadowy, strong chin. Some aesthetic similarity, I felt. The man on the colour poster is Morales Diz, just elected senator for "La U", in Córdoba. To focus on the visual impression, I erased the text from the poster. In the campaign, Morales Diz and Méndes Bechara have worked together.

As my thoughts continued to wander, I saw that the fascist motto from the Méndes Bechara propaganda fitted quite well with the image of Morales Diz. So I blended the two.

But I am completely wrong. Morales Diz is a nice man, I have been told. Well, he is on the list of suspects because of his ties to political "godmother" Zulema Jattin, an ex-senator condemned to 4 years imprisonment for parapolitics. During the paramilitary domininace in the region, Morales Diz was mayor in one of the stronghold municipalities, San Antero. The top commander of the paramilitary movement, Salvatore Mancuso, has pointed out Morales Diz as one of the locals under his control. But of course, Mancuso is probably a liar.

The inspiration for the poster photo is quite decent. It was not Mussolini, but Obama. But I am still curious about that motto: The POWER of a new LEADER – evidently doctor Méndez Bechara does not share my connotational patterns.

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