The President They Didn't Let Be
Colombia has shown a cruel and silent characteristic: that of destroying some of its best statesmen before giving them the opportunity to lead the country's destiny. It does not necessarily eliminate them physically—although this has also happened with promising figures—but it has become customary to apply a strategy of symbolic and political 'cancellation' that can be as lethal to society as any pandemic.
TL;DR
- Colombia has a tendency to 'cancel' promising leaders, not necessarily through physical elimination, but through symbolic and political strategies.
- Figures like Germán Vargas Lleras, Enrique Peñalosa, and Sergio Fajardo, all capable administrators, had their presidential aspirations derailed by the magnification of minor incidents (e.g., Vargas Lleras's 'coscorrón').
- This 'cancellation' mechanism operates by taking a gesture or error, overemphasizing it, and using it to overshadow the politician's entire career.
- The tactic of 'framing' in public opinion shapes perceptions through symbols and emotions rather than rational arguments, making politicians reducible to simplified, negative identities.
- Vargas Lleras, described as a statesman rather than just a politician, possessed deep knowledge of the state and a temperament to defend institutions, yet was 'canceled' by a single incident.