Latin America is experiencing a confusing or, better said, paradoxical moment. The political systems of the region are undergoing multiple changes, but many of the conceptual frameworks through which these changes are interpreted are inflexible, outdated, incapable of accounting for distinctions, nuances or novelties.
Let’s say that, in general terms, the versatility of facts contrasts with the inalterability of ideas. It is hard to believe, but sometimes it seems that it is still necessary to argue, for example, that not all Latin American lefts are the same (nor are the rights, by the way).
Even medieval demonology was more sophisticated: it proposed the existence of a plurality of demons, admitted that they had dissimilar characteristics, and never jumped to the conclusion that they were all Satan. What then would have been disavowed as shoddy theology is today admitted, by devotees of both orthodoxy and heresy, as valid political discourse.
Why? Because equating Boric or Petro with Chávez or Ortega is a simplistic but effective resource. Simplistic because it exaggerates its similarities (it even invents them when there are none) and downplays, or outright ignores, its differences. It is gimmicky because by emphasizing those similarities, it creates a confirmation bias that, by telling one and the other what they want to hear, exempts them from dealing with the evidence that contradicts them.
The lopezobradorismo extolled the victories of Boric and Petro as if they were their own victory. However, the comparison with these leaderships serves to formulate various criticisms of López Obrador’s management.
The priority that the Boric government has given to human rights, both in its domestic and foreign policy, has no equivalent in the López Obrador administration. The commitment to undertake profound tax reforms with explicitly redistributive purposes, both in the case of Boric and Petro, is a clear sign of a progressive vocation that has been conspicuous by its absence in Mexico.
And Petro’s commitment to the transition to clean energy and environmental justice, understood as a form of social justice, is the opposite of what has been the energy policy and environmental neglect of the self-styled 4T. More than celebrating, López Obrador should be ashamed.
