Mazón, Bolsonaro and other grotesques

Carlos Mazón and Jair Bolsonaro are two figures with little in common, but what they do share is significant. Both operate within the murky realm of populism, the far right, and militarized and militarizing neofascism. Both have been disastrous rulers for their countries, leaving a trail of fraud and theft, as well as a horrifying number of deaths. We're not talking about executions, but rather preventable deaths. Many of the 229 Valencians who died during the devastating storm of October 29, 2024, could have been saved if Mazón had been in his proper position, adhering to and enforcing protocols, instead of spending the entire afternoon in a private room at El Ventorro. Similarly, many of the more than 700,000 Brazilians who died during the COVID-19 pandemic could also have been saved if Bolsonaro had listened to medicine and science, instead of appearing on television mocking and mimicking the drowning of sick people. Because of their negligence, their ineptitude, their denialism, Mazón and Bolsonaro are rulers who are responsible for the deaths of the citizens of their countries, which makes them criminals: the Brazilian was sentenced to 27 years (but not for his management of the pandemic, but for attempted coup d'état); the Valencian is under judicial investigation.

Mazón and Bolsonaro are also grotesque figures, creatures of the absurd. This judicial investigation into Mazón's activities on the day of the tragedy is testing the patience of the judge in Catarroja, Nuria Ruiz Tobarra, also known as "the judge of the DANA storm," who is forced to piece together the puzzle of misfortune and depravity that the president resigned from (but has left in plain sight). In the judicial world, often the hardest thing is gathering evidence to prove the obvious. That's why news reports about the investigation refer to things like journalist Vilaplana's parking ticket, the lunch bill, or the exact dimensions of the private room at El Ventorro. They are unpleasant and sordid matters, just like the man under investigation.

Meanwhile, as we hear of Brazilian President Lula da Silva's (a good role model for the left) concern over the US Navy's maneuvers in the Caribbean, and as a crisis unfolds in Venezuela, led by two buffoons like Trump and Maduro, it's almost comforting to know that Bolsonaro, while under house arrest, has once again learned that he was using a welding torch and burned his legs, under the influence of what he himself described as "a hallucination."

Politics, public administration, is besieged (and in many places, taken over) by aberrant, twisted, and indecent characters, who very likely could have inspired some of Goya's works. whimsIt may seem that way, but it's no consolation.