Maduro and his tracksuit: when clothing becomes a message
The dystopian and political satire film Don't look up (2021) portrayed a society incapable of confronting an imminent existential threat. Faced with the predicted destruction of the world, the protagonists preferred to look the other way, trapped in irrelevant matters. Today, in a context of profound political disaffection, collective impotence, and widespread superficiality, it seems we are living through our own. Don't look up particular.
While the capture of Nicolás Maduro This represents an extremely serious blow to the international order, calling into question fundamental principles such as state sovereignty and the prohibition of the use of force as an instrument of global governance, with real risks of escalation into a global conflict. Yet, a segment of the population has chosen to focus on Maduro's tracksuit, even... Looking the other way, shifting attention to the gesture or the superficiality, is often how societies avoid confronting the consequences of their own limitations. However, beyond accepting the futility of the anecdote, the tracksuit deserves to be analyzed as an element that contributes to constructing the narrative of the current political moment.
There was a time when Latin American left-wing dictators constructed their aesthetic through military attire, as an extension of their ideological message. This aesthetic inevitably stemmed from the figure of Che Guevara and later passed through Fidel Castro and Hugo Chávez, with their olive-green combat uniforms, vests or jackets, and military boots. Unlike that of right-wing dictators like Pinochet or Videla, laden with medals and distinctions that recalled hierarchy and distanced them from the people, this clothing clearly embodied the idea of permanent revolution, their guerrilla origins, and the image of the fighter alongside the people.
The dramatic shift in this seemingly established fashion came from Fidel Castro, who, from 2006 onward, made the tracksuit his signature look in his later years. Dubbed the "revolutionary tracksuit" phenomenon, it aimed to cultivate the image of the "common man," appeal to a younger audience, and be associated with physical activity, projecting a certain vigor despite his declining health and advanced age. This trend was followed by Hugo Chávez and Nicolás Maduro, who frequently appeared in tracksuits in colors associated with Bolivarian socialism to connect with the masses.
In all the images we've received of Maduro being arrested, there's been a veritable display of tracksuits, from gray Nike Tech models to dark-colored sweatshirts, now devoid of the vibrant hues of the Venezuelan flag he so often sported in public. This clothing, which likely facilitates his arrest, has a clear objective: to publicly dismantle the dictator's image of dignity, preventing him from being portrayed as a leader or a martyr. The tracksuit is a versatile garment that, in this case, the United States is using to depict Maduro as a loser, giving Karl Lagerfeld's famous quote a new meaning: "The tracksuit is a sign of defeat. When you lose control over your life, you buy a tracksuit."
