This old taste of uncertainty does not completely disappear. It is disconcerting to see how the facial hardness of the "representatives of themselves" is rewarded, while the expected citizen side effect does not finish taking hold under the umbrella of general weariness, apathy towards an outdated management model with little vocation towards community well-being.
It is so easy to shoot with someone else's gunpowder (I borrow the phrase, master), to get lost in excuses of group discipline, shamelessly appealing to the external imposition of directions. The absence of responsibilities is rewarded, the permanent negligence is key to providing refuge to urgent decisions, the mockery of social interest, etc.
If these "public management interlocutors" have achieved anything in abundance, it has been to silence civil society. They have consolidated a perfect structure in that sense, where any content and initiative that could shake their organizational foundations is distorted and reformulated. Their procedures have evolved, but their complexity remains an obstacle for most citizens. The administration-citizen relationships approach and move away with the same intensity as new technologies advance.
It is incredible that parties can include all kinds of promises in their electoral programs, and senselessly do the opposite when they are in decision-making positions. The political history of this island is plagued with these breaches, and absolutely nothing happens! In advertising terms, we would be talking about misleading advertising, which is penalized, but when it comes to parties and politicians, things change. Citizen tools have not been effectively developed to accurately measure the level of compliance with these promises, nor have administrative consequences been defined in the face of this lack of sobriety.
This behavior and these unethical praxis are so recognized and accepted by the "general public" that electoral propaganda itself takes on a harmful air. No one takes political promises or their contents very seriously, because, quite simply, their protagonists do not believe in the "contract with their voters" either; they know in advance that they will not be able to fulfill the established points. They talk and repeat things like environmental protection, sustainability, strengthening social protection systems, etc., but most of them do not delve into these concepts or know how they would apply them in their municipalities, provinces, communities.
On the other hand, they also do not usually seek advice from solvent experts in these matters. Why bother, if they don't really care! They must include them in their public speeches, but everything goes wrong when it comes to preparing budgets, structuring transversal lines of work, developing new management capacities and new channels of communication with citizens.
However, in an election year, they will once again resort to the relevance of social services, the conservation of environments, citizen protection and rescue, equal opportunities, etc. The story sounds familiar. Of course!
Well, Christmas will arrive soon, which will offer us that balsamic varnish on the collective conscience, sweeping away civic concerns for weeks. We will refocus our efforts on consuming nothing. Nothing engulfs us. When the horizon does not matter, we find warmth in the absurd. The tilde of "politics" squints in the face of so much noise from armchairs.
Agustín Enrique García Acosta – Social Worker
