Let’s talk about TV. Useless quarrels

Piñera’s former ministers, Karla Rubilar, Jaime Bellolio and Mario Desbordes – who have become real “faces” of television – are challenging the institutions in a campaign that has not even begun and are involved in shameful disputes with their adversaries, claiming a supposed victory in October – which is clearly not guaranteed. Futile disputes that will have no impact on the elections.

Journalist. “The Century”. Santiago. 1/7/2024Those with grey hair will remember that in Chile, when the right-wing presidential candidate, Jorge Alessandri, participated in the televised debate against Salvador Allende, even his most recalcitrant supporters recognized that the candidate for La Moneda appeared too old, hesitant and shaky. They also insisted on his campaign and even after the victory of the UP, they insisted on imposing his election through the Full Congress and even perpetrated the murder of General Schneider to try to bring – despite everything – Alessandri to La Moneda.

This is brought up in light of the pathetic performance of the presidential candidates in the United States, the financial magnate and former president, Donald Trump, and the current head of state, George Biden. A pair of veterans who would do well to retire rather than put on a sad show of mistakes, confusion and accusations of inefficiency on both sides.

A permanent quarrel, no solutions to the economic problems facing American citizens, no proposals for the drama of emigration, and even less initiatives for peace in Palestine or Ukraine; both argue tirelessly among themselves without proposing anything coherent or even feasible, while the military-industrial complex and the transnational companies rub their hands. They don’t care about the next government that takes up residence in the White House.

Something similar is happening in Chile, although on a smaller scale, with the mayor of Providencia, Evelyn Matthei, in a dispute for the leadership of the right with teeth and molars against the Republican José Antonio Kast and both intend to leave behind a third unsuitable candidate for La Moneda, the “sheriff” of La Florida, Rodolfo Carter.

In this case, the issue is not the oppressive economic and social situation of citizens, threatened with a sharp rise in electricity rates, pensions, the health system and other serious problems. What is at stake is the imposition of an agreement from the extreme right to the small groups of the Yellows, Social Christians and Democrats, without even a government programme or concrete proposals in any area that unites them, only to displace the current progressive government.

Meanwhile, Piñera’s former ministers, Karla Rubilar, Jaime Bellolio and Mario Desbordes – who have become real “faces” of television – are challenging the institutions in a campaign that has not even begun and are involved in shameful disputes with their adversaries, claiming a supposed victory in October – which is clearly not guaranteed. Futile disputes that will have no impact on the elections.

Television channels not only provide a stage but, to a greater or lesser extent, offer a platform to former authorities. Pineraists and make it difficult for new faces and councillors who are re-elected with sufficient merits recognised by residents but unknown to the media to be present.

The presenters, presenters, newsreaders and “reporters” display laudatory adjectives in favor of the opposition candidates and directly address the supporters of the current Government. Stereotypes and commonplaces are exhausted in the impoverished lexicon of these “professionals” of television. So much so, for example, that they inexplicably call the former advisor to the Undersecretary of the Interior, Juan Andrés Lagos, a “historical” leader, whose only “charge” is being a communist militant.

For those who don’t know, it would have been worth describing as “historical” the former Minister of Economy and former communist deputy, José Cademartori, who died this week and who did not merit further mention in the media, as well as the leader Alejandro del Río, who was the architect in the underground during the Pinochet dictatorship of initiatives such as the cultural magazine Araucaria and the operation “Chile Crea” that called for the worldwide solidarity of artists and intellectuals with the struggle of the Chilean people at the end of the 80s. Del Río also died practically surrounded by the love of his loved ones and with little recognition from the majority of the population who did not learn of his sensitive loss through the media. They only focused on useless quarrels.

Meanwhile, Chile Vamos is faced with the dilemma of sacrificing the names of candidates for regional governorships and current authorities to make way for republicans, social Christians and “democrats” in an attempt to unite the right and the far right, in the style of the recent neo-fascist victory in the European Union.

On the other hand, on the left, the coherence and consequence of positions is demonstrated – for example – by the president of the Chamber of Deputies, Karol Cariola, demanding a solution to the rise in electricity rates through greater subsidies or (as the president of the PC, Lautaro Carmona, said) until “we can drink cold milk.” A real concern for people far from useless quarrels.