The summons arrived at the headquarters of the Ancap Federation (Fancap) around 3:00 p.m. on Monday. Metro Goldwyn Mayer Studios, through its Uruguayan representative Carmela Bacot, called the “immediately cease any unauthorized use of the Pink Panther work”, a symbol that the union had already adopted in the 2003 referendum against the Ancap law that proposed to repeal the monopoly of the state company.
The reaction of the promoters of the Yes vote was immediate. Among various statements by leaders, the president of the Broad Front, Fernando Pereira, referred to “external pressure” from the multinational to hinder the campaign. A few hours later, the head of communication for the National Commission for Yes, Esteban Valenti, attacked the founder of the law firm that represents MGM in Uruguay.
“It’s much worse, Óscar Bacot, founder of the MGM representative studio, is one of the organizers of marches in favor of the LUC. Coincidence?” he wrote on his Twitter account.
The attorney responsible for the summons belongs to the firm Bacot & Bacot, established in 1988 by Óscar Bacot to work in the defense of Intellectual Property rights, as stated in its Web page.
According to 2019 Facebook posts released by referendum promoters, the lawyer organized the horseback ride that accompanied the inauguration of President Luis Lacalle Pou. consulted by The ObserverBacot confirmed this information: “I was one of the organizers of the 2020 march. What do I have to hide? Why didn’t I vote for them? Of course, and I will continue to organize them so that in 2025 a reasonable government returns like the one we have today.”.
The MGM representative is also behind the march called in all departments for next May 6, in defense of the administration and the LUC. The demonstration in Montevideo will take place from the Prado to the Plaza Independencia.
When asked about the relationship between his militancy and the summons, he limited himself to answering: “Absolutely none. My private activity is in a law firm in which we are dedicated to representing trademarks and patents. And this marching thing is something I have done since I was born”. Bacot preferred not to comment on the Pink Panther episode for the time being.
The injunction presented on Monday forces unions such as Fancap and the Confederation of State Organizations (COFE) to stop using the animated character officially. “With Fancap we are going to get rid of the image of the panther, but we cannot ask people to stop using it, because that is beyond our control”said to The Observer the union’s propaganda manager, Manuel Colina.
One of the collateral effects falls on the carnival, because Fancap is a sponsor of several carnival ensembles. “What I can tell them is that they can keep the plot sponsorship for me and that they don’t put me on the panther,” Colina explained.
In this sense, the murgas decided this afternoon to maintain the appearance of the character, although they will remove the Federation logo from the costume. “The panther is still stronger than ever“, summed up The Observer the director responsible for Licensed Assailants, Daniel Pascale. The character is also present in the Queso Magro show.
Background
There are some antecedents in Uruguay of electoral campaigns that resorted to animated characters or cinematographic symbols to captivate voters. One of them consisted of the use of the happy face ‘Smile’ in the propaganda for the Green Vote of the 1989 referendum, to repeal the Expiry Law.
“Excuse me, ma’am, you, what are you going to vote for?”, began the spot in which Horacio Buscaglia officiated as a mobile player. The piece became the jingle ‘I vote for the green list’ with the melody of La Bamba, while a green version of ‘Smile’ accompanied all the images.
In 2003 Fancap used the image of the Pink Panther for the first time in the campaign to endorse the so-called Ancap Law, which during the administration of Jorge Batlle repealed the monopoly of the state company.
Later in time, the current Colorado deputy Gustavo Zubía appealed to James Bond’s 007 to enumerate the list with which he launched into politics. The number was formulated with an aesthetic similar to that used in the films of the British agent. consulted by The Observerthe deputy replied that “no one in the world owns 007.” “One thing is the number, another thing is a speech, like that of the Pink Panther”Zubia said.
“Nobody said anything to me, Roger Moore didn’t come to claim,” he said. “If we speak legally, I ratify everything. Now, there may have been mischief,” he said.
