The kitten in Mompox

Magangué must be one of the ugliest towns in Colombia, situated on the shores of Rio Magdalena. It is very, very dirty. Everything seems to be falling apart. Many areas of the town do not have access to water. Waste water goes directly into the river. The town has been ruled for many years (well, not always formally) by the family of Enilse López, aka "La gata" [The cat]. This powerful woman is a criminal, condemned for corruption, extorsion, paramilitary collaboration and other bad things. She is serving her long prison sentence now, but has been permitted to do so in her private residence. Her son Jorge Luis Alfonso López (also condemned) was mayor 2004-2007, and the paramilitary connections with the public services exploded. Violence, clientilism, nepotism became daily routine. Later, the ex-mayor has been prohibited from holding any public office for 20 years. These are really bad guys, and they are not defeated.

Mangangué these days is completely plastered with murals, banners, posters, billboards in favour of another son of La gata, Hector Julio Alfonso López, nicknamed El gatico [The kitten]. He is candidate to the Colombian senate. National and regional newspapers report on the massive buying of votes on his behalf. It is a shame, but fear and poverty makes it probable that this López will get plenty of votes.

López is heavily promoted not only in Magangué, but in the whole province and beyond. Also in villages small fortunes have been used to paint walls in favour of this "Esperanza de un pueblo" [Hope of a people], the motto used by Lopez. A real nightmare!

Then, not so far from the ugly Magangué, I arrive at Mompox - one of the oldest towns in Colombia, founded in 1537. The historic centre of Mompox is beatiful, calm, friendly and peaceful.



It took me a while to find out why the peace of Mompox was even more impressive this time. Then I realised that it was the absence of election propaganda. No giant standardised murals, (almost) no posters with their dishonestly retouched photos, no stupid mottos. Mompox respects that in 1995 its historic centre was declared Unesco World Heritage.

Then a wellknown face appears, that of El gatico López. His local fans have found a way around the rules (as they usually do): they show his poster in the windows of a private house.

My photographic interest made some people stop to ask. Nobody seemed to be in a hurry this Sunday morning. A small discussion followed and I asked the neighbour would she vote for El gatico? Noooo! Then somehow appeared the joke that here in Mompox the candidate was already where be belonged, behind bars. Roars of laughter, and smiling we continued in our various directions.