Editorial of the Razón de Estado program number 239

When, in her day, my grandmother looked at the political dynamics of our countries, she said that there were too many devils on the loose for so little holy water. I suspect the big words she would use today if she saw that Latin America is dominated by a political class, with few exceptions, populist, corrupt and failed, incompetent and primitive; infested with addicted kleptomaniacs whose worldview is politics without principles, wealth without work, and justice without morals.

Society is made up of different groups and sectors, each one with their preferences and interests, usually in disagreement, sometimes in conflict. However, if societies, especially in the times we live in, want to confront the abuse of power, and survive, it is essential that we have agreement and organization.

The nature and strength of free societies reposes in the difference of opinions and the compromise to solve things and move forward. We only must respect ideologies that are within the framework of democracy, and forbid ambition, personal agendas, and power struggles.

Groups of extremists must be left alone with their fires; as distracted elites, if they don't wake up.

Our democracies have been weakened because we enact laws that we do not obey, we create institutions that we do not respect, and the criminalization of politics is consolidating systems in which corruption and impunity reign.

For this reason, democracy must be accepted as a shared project under permanent construction. It must be a gathering point for society, a place of debate and freedom that seeks the common good through the dissemination and defense of the ethical, legal, and economic foundations that build nations of free, responsible, and prosperous citizens.

Democracy and Freedom need citizens committed to building nations where virtue is a reference and truth a moral value, where justice and the rule of law prevail. Nations that have heroes as a rule, not by exception.

All citizens, regardless of the group or sector to which they belong, must guarantee that in the Rule of Law it is abusive power and crime that are subordinated to wisdom and respect for the law; and that dishonor and stupidity surrender to intelligence and morality.

My grandmother always warned me that, in times of repression, confusion, and division, the herd prefers servitude to civic duty. She also said that citizens who act like goats, have no leaders but dupes. Therefore, valuing citizen power and defending freedom make the difference between being slaves or living with dignity.