Honestly, I would love to live in the country President Alberto Fernández described in his annual address to Congress last March 1st. In his words, our economy is healthy and strong, inflation is dropping, there’s a fair distribution of wealth, the State is always present and efficient, private sector activities are encouraged, blah-blah-blah. A clear example of wishful thinking, the magical realism Gabriel García Márquez was so fond of.
The following day, while he was opening the school year in La Rioja, a 16 year old student interrupted his speech with an unexpected question: “Mr President, why did you break the lockdown?” “Take it easy, take it easy, we’ll talk later”, Fernández answered, visibly upset. When I saw that awkward situation, I had a “déjà vu”. Cristina Fernández de Kirchner at Harvard University (2012), when an Argentine student asked her about the origin of her wealth. Both Fernández looked cornered, at a loss for words. Both are deliberately evasive, skillfully dodging unpleasant questions. Come to think of it, Aníbal too. It must be in their DNA… Sigh