So we will elect a new president next May. There are several competent candidates, which is something very positive. Oddly enough, the guy who is by far the most competent and prepared candidate for president does not stand any chance of winning. Not in this election, and most likely not in those to come. The name of this candidate is Antanas Mockus, and in this post I will tell you a bit about him.
Antanas Mockus, a son of Lithuanian immigrants, is a mathematician who had a rather successful academic career. In fact, in the early 90s he was a professor and president of the National University of Colombia. In 1993 he ran successfully for Mayor of Bogotá. From the very beginning he has been a very unorthodox politician. His style is unique in that he exploits symbolism, humor, and common sense in all of his initiatives. He is well-known for pedagogic campaigns against violence and in favor of education and urban culture.
Antanas is mostly remembered by the fact that he does weird things in order to make his point and/or attract people's attention. For instance, as President of the National University, he showed his white ass to all attendees of a public forum (I think he did so because the audience was disrespectful with him, but I am not sure). This reaction made him famous. Wearing strange custumes and hats is part of the symbolism he uses in his public appearances. This is Antanas, posing as a superhero in favor of culture:
The accompanying text reads: Mockus and his team developed policies to make the moral of people in Bogotá more congruent with respect to law and culture, and against violence. Antanas was an outstanding mayor for the huge city of Bogotá. His management was brilliant, and his political style was admired all around the country for his originality and decency. Soon after his first term as mayor he has attempted unsuccessfully to run for president, at least twice. In 2006, he failed in getting elected for the parliament. Many times I have wondered why he always fails in his attempts for building a solid presidential campaign. Perhaps he expresses himself in a very involved way. He tends to abuse of complex metaphors when addressing people, so he surely ends up conveying confusing messages. Perhaps his plans and personality are too unusual, especially when compared with ordinary politicians. Perhaps he's simply too good to be a president.
The idea that Antanas would be an excellent president but that he has no chances whatsoever seems to be a very widespread one. In the current campaign, he has formed a coalition with other two former mayors of Bogotá. Not even as a team they have managed to attract people's attention (at least not massively, as reflected by polls). It is sad to realize that they're extremely brilliant people who will never get a chance. Why is that? Well, they always seem to be the right candidates in the wrong election. The current election will be about someone capable of continuing Uribe's right-wing military policies, while correcting the enormous shortcomings in other aspects, such as human rights, foreign policy, poverty and health coverage. Antanas proposes a government based on education, respect for life, and a change in the culture at every level. All of this must sound like out of place for the regular voter who wants to see the leaders of FARC dead or captured. (Not surprisingly, the guy who ranks first in the polls is Juan M. Santos, former ministry of defense and despicable human being.)
It is even more disappointing to realize that most likely every country has its own Antanas: decent, competent politicians that have no chance of getting elected. Antanas (and all the others like him) represent another facet of the failure of democracy we witness these days.
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