Editorial del programa Razón de Estado número 256

Every human being, wrote Ortega y Gasset, carries within a judge and a defendant. An inquisitor and a penitent. And indeed, this is true, as at the end of each day, I believe, we all go through that vital balance sheet where we add up the gains and losses of the day; what we did well and what we could have done better.

Just as this is a reality in personal, family, and work life, it is also, and should be, in our life as citizens; in our participation as members of that conglomerate of dreams and frustrations called The Nation.

Life, as a dear professor reminded me, is that act that shakes us with its velocity. Accepting its imperfection and understanding that its nature is one of continuous evolution is, for personal well-being, a necessary act of humility.

These reflections are relevant due to the time, sacrifices, and number of generations it takes to build modern, developed, successful nations. The condition to achieve this is precisely the active citizen - the one who fulfills their duties, demands, votes, and defends their vote; the citizen who sets an example, protests, and respects the law.

Latin America is going through a moment in which it needs many citizens like those. By action and omission, we have become societies besieged by the incompetence of politicians, aggrieved by public corruption, and tired of their impunity. We have become nations lost in the lies of populism and trampled by its despotism.

The majority of politicians have lost their sense of decency. Even though history teaches us that a people fed up with their politicians eventually wipes them out, there is no scandal capable of shaming them anymore. Yes, history confirms that public condemnation is a reality. But they don't care.

Far from upholding that the Democratic Republic and the Rule of Law be part of society's culture and are in the heart of the citizen, these politicians dedicate themselves to corrupting, distorting, and destroying it, turning us into societies trapped in the middle of wars between criminal clans seeking loot and impunity. That is why today, in too many countries in our Latin America, democracy and freedom are in danger.

Brave activists and honorable public officials who strive and sacrifice from spaces of society and from upright institutions assert that the problem they find is that there are too many devils on the loose for so little holy water.

Therefore, let's make values, ideas, and commitments cease to be scarce goods and remember that civilized life, successful nations, development, and well-being are founded on the Rule of law, independent justice, and the condition that society has free and courageous citizens as the norm, not as an exception.