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By Gabriel Vallecillo Marquez

September 28, 2005

Honduras - Original Article (Spanish)

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One of my professors of philosophy in critical theory and postmodernism always said: "make no mistake, the powers of the State no longer belong to the Executive, Legislative and the Judicial branches. In the world we live in, power is in the hands of multinational corporations, the industry of war and Hollywood." Without doubt, this is a truism. Great industrialists support and then pull-the-plug on candidates, and choose the policies and plans for the nation. The humiliating case of "gasolinazo" is recent is proof of this, and denials that [oil companies] don’t want to politicize the issue is simply a bold-faced lie. This is nothing but a smoke screen to hide the obvious domination (or corruption, if you like) of the economy by multinational corporations and their need to perpetuate the chaos: the most efficient system of control and domination of the middle class and the rest of the population is through continuous crises.

[Editor’s Note: The “case of gazolinazo” refers to a multi-million dollar fraud case in Latin America, whereby gasoline is sold without the payment of customs duties and taxes. Honduras is one of the affected countries].

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Likewise we assist the second power [the industry of war] by exporting mercenaries, who for the most part end up as cannon fodder in other people's groundless and illegal wars. Companies exist that train the poorest Hondurans in military thought, and that promise to be “Your Answer.” Make no mistake, these private contractors are mercenaries that don’t have to adhere to the international laws of war. What opportune timing. Machiavelli said that the word mercenary is synonymous with corruption.

Who are the most remarkable people of our time? Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden. Always watching the direction the world is taking, they double-cross those who train and finance them and they keep on going. But the reason they do is that there is so much money available to perpetuate the vicious cycle of mercenary-betrayal-war. Have you read my previous article, when I said that we live in a permanent military state? Definitively, this is an industry that squanders human beings. What is left of the concept of human life and what has happened to the search for long-term peace?

Honduran President Ricardo Maduro at the U.N. Last Year; Richard Gere. See the Similarity?

— U.N. VIDEO: Foreign Minister of Honduras Speaks for His Nation, Sept. 16, 00:06:38

Hollywood, the third power, is a machine that conceals reality from people and manipulates their perceptions of themselves and the world in such a way as to obtain certain calculated results. I recently read in the news a story that left me so overwhelmed, I burst into laughter (sometimes this is the only thing we have left) and then gloom and pathetic sympathy at the wretched fallacy of President Ricardo Maduro. I cannot understand what reason there could be, (and this a major strategy for the Maduro Government) for offering a grant for the making of a film starring Richard Gere [about Maduro]! Is this how our taxes are spent? Well, it hardly matters, I say, because historically the government doesn’t listen to the people.

The point is that historically, Hollywood films (and this has been a miscalculation of the lady) which portray governments, have either recreated a shameful or humiliating episode from the past or striven to create the image of a heroic president that often saves the country and sometimes the world. But notice, on this last point, that there has never been a representation of a real-life administration, these have always been invented.

In fact, we recall here a film entitled Wag the Dog, where a Hollywood producer invents a war with all its humanitarian aspects to hide a scandal of the president. But not only that, the movie creates an atmosphere in which companies can promote their products (yellow bracelets, t-shirts, etc.) in supporting the "cause." As we can see, here we have the three powers: war, corporations and entertainment. This is perfect.

But he [President Maduro] is not especially brilliant or a star. What does this show? Which of the two types of Hollywood movies about governments are they going to produce? Honduras no longer has heroes, and I don’t believe it wants them. I don’t want to see my president as a Superman. Advice: This is not suitable, dignified or respectful (nor does it show a love of the people) that he must serve. Honduras may have suffered historical disappointments, but idiots we are not. So, after all the humiliation and constant bursts of laughter, we have three powers, but not a State.