The presidential elections in the United States They show the political deterioration that modern democracy is suffering. The dispute for the Oval Office between Joe Biden and Donald Trump has sparked heated debates among analysts and supporters. Far from discussing the direction the country should take, the arguments in favor of one or the other candidate focus on their personal stories. In Trump’s case, his difficult relationship with the law and his tendency to avoid it. On the Democratic side, the state of health of their candidate and current president is of great concern.
The political scenario in Bolivia is far from American reality. However, the meaning of democracy in its most participatory sense is also in question. The statements of former President Morales clearly show his intention to return to the presidency at any cost. For him, the citizen vote is not an impediment to achieving his goal. Nor are the laws or the Constitution. Another candidate for the presidential seat, Luis Arce, has also shown himself to be indifferent to the rules of the democratic game. The constant impediments to the process of renewal in the judicial power are good proof of this.
Calls for unity from the opposition bloc They are yet another example of a wounded democracy. Several of the proclaimed presidential candidates are calling for a unity that would only be effective around them. If they were not elected, they suggest, they would not support the candidacy of their opponents. In the 21st century, the democratic maturity that modern thinkers yearned for has declined into a political personalism very close to caudillismo. The citizen, for all these presidential candidates, only counts for his vote, if they are truly capable of respecting the decision of the ballot box.
