National Savonarola

Girolamo Savonarola (Ferrara, September 21, 1452 – Florence, May 23, 1498) was a Dominican, Italian, famous for his moralistic harangues and his hypocritical defense of poverty and virtue. He was the organizer of the famous Bonfire of the Vanities, where Florentines were invited to throw their luxury items, licentious books and cosmetics. He preached against luxury, profit, the depravity of the powerful and corruption. Eventually his preaching turned out to be so unbearable for the Florentines that they ended up judging him, killing him, burning him and throwing his challenges into the river, so that there would be no possible veneration.

In every society in recent years there has been a “well-intentioned” Savonarola. The experiences, however, are not always over or have not yet ended well. The examples are present in our daily imagination when we talk about Bolsonaro, Chávez and so many more. By the way, the matter is not typical of the low, medium or high development of a society. The same is Bolivia, which is England today.

The most dangerous thing about the Savonarola attitude, however, is that the dogma acquires such importance for its defender or supporters that commitment to conviction is more important than solving real problems and opening up alternatives in the midst of the changing and capricious reality that it appears, even as a result of the decisions themselves that the dogma obliges.

In an accurate report, which he carried out for Aristegui NewsRegina Diez Gutiérrez, I find out that there are around 4,600 million pesos in the coffers of national and foreign airlines who charge us the TUA (airport use fee) that when the passenger does not show up to take his flight (something that happens), due to lack of clarity in the rules and provisions of civil aeronautics, are appropriated by the airlines and do not return to the coffers of the nation.

In other words, not only because of foolishness, given that there was corruption, the suspension of the construction of the Texcoco airport that was going to be paid for with the TUA, that is, by those who travel and use the airport, now I find out that the almost 60% of the cost of my ticket, if I don’t show up to board my plane, the airline keeps it. And that, Felipe Ángeles, we will all have to pay for it with our taxes plus expenses associated with financing the payment of the contracted debt, instead of as planned. Terrible decision for the sake of dogma.

Worse yet, with the departure of #ElReydel Ca$hI find myself among AMLO’s followers, some of them with prestigious names in the national press, I find this argument: that all the millions that AMLO received illegally for years, and his frugal way of living, prove that he is not interested in money and that said book only proves that despite the millions, he remained pure.

Those who defend him, as they defended Savonarola, forget that it is not the way in which a false virtuoso lives that matters in a society, desirably ruled by law. What matters to all of us is that this “virtuous” first of all respects the law, joins the political game in the same conditions as the others and is capable of governing with certainty, a sense of reality, responsibility, legality and efficiency. We are not interested, I believe, in how faithful he is to what he himself has imposed, without anyone asking him to do so.

Savonarola’s books at his death were included in the “Index of Forbidden Books”, history —seriously— is repeated or can be repeated countless times. Nothing more, but nothing less too.