No We Can’t

Published in Exélsior
(Mexico) on 20 October 2009
by Mario Melgar (link to originallink to original)
Translated from by Grant Wheeler. Edited by Christie Chu.
Obama continues to be the center of the news. He was before assuming office because of what people hoped he would do. Now that he is in office, he is because of what he still has not done.

Nine months of his administration have passed without anything concrete. Perhaps his nomination for the Nobel Prize was unreasonable, because certainly no one thinks he deserves it. Like Lech Walesa complained upon hearing the news: "Who, what? So fast?"

His biggest project, health care reform, is moving slowly, with notable opposition from conservatives who view the new system as the beginning of socialism in the United States. In fact, some yards of typical middle-class houses in the suburbs have banners with the phrase "No to Socialism." Naturally, opponents of the reform do not know what the reform that Obama proposes consists of, but at least they know what socialism is.

If Obama had a Mexican political advisor, [the advisor] would have already recommended that he take a change in direction, like Cardénas throwing out Calles, Ruiz Cortínez pointing out the corruption of the government under Alemán, Salinas with the kinase or Calderón with the power outage from the energy company. Fox did not make changes in direction, but rather was hit with the rudder.

A fourth grade student asked the president last week why people hated him. He added: "They're supposed to love you. And God is love." Obama's answer shows the problems that the American society endures. Obama answered that we should take everything calmly, in good humor and with a grain of salt.

The reference to salt refers to the Roman general Pompey who tried to make himself immune to poisoning by ingesting small doses of poisons to serve as a preventative antidote. He took the small doses with a small amount of salt. The supposed antidotes served him little as he was ultimately assassinated in Egypt where he was in hiding.

Not being as dramatic as a Roman general, Obama believes that the critics who speak out are frustrated and sore about having lost the election. Others are angry and worried about the prospect of losing their jobs or houses, since they owe mortgages to the bank. Obama has said that he is not giving up on his idea of change, that work is being done and what is happening is only the beginning.

"And when you're president of the United States, you know, you've got to deal with all of that. You get some of the credit when things go good. And when things are going tough, then, you know, you're going to get some of the blame, and that's part of the job," Obama concluded.

Not everything was as unpleasant for him as a child telling him that he is hated. A few hours after being asked why he is hated, the celebration of the day of Spanish or Latin culture went well. Spanish and Latin are euphemisms, however, because the Latins have not existed since Pompey, and the Spanish are on the Iberian peninsula and not in the Mexican neighborhoods of Chicago, Los Angeles and New York.

At the "Spanish Heritage" celebration, he accepted the invitation extended to him by Thalía [Mexican pop singer and actress] to dance after the Mexican artist consulted Michelle [Obama]. He shouted "Macho" as he danced and showed off his tropical rhythm and his dancing talent.

During his campaign, Obama utilized a motto whose origin is unknown. I thought it was attributable to a group of parents from Matamoros, Tamaulipas, who accompanied their children to a children's world championship game of baseball in Williamsport. The motto, "Si Se Puede," which they made famous, helped them win the world championship.

The PRI* with Robert Madrazo utilized the same motto, but did not win. Obama utilized "Yes We Can" and with this beat Hillary for the Democratic nomination, and afterward beat McCain for the presidency.

Now in the United States, in the face of widespread difficulties, the accumulated problems and the difficulties in initiating the proposed changes, it has been suggested that it would be more suitable for the successful motto to undergo a change and convert to "No We Can't," because everything indicates that--for the moment, at least--they want to, but they can't.

*Translator's note: the PRI, or Institutional Revolutionary Party, is a Mexican political party.


No se puede

Obama sigue en el centro de las noticias. Lo estuvo antes de asumir el cargo por lo que se esperaba que hiciera, ahora ya en funciones, está por lo que todavía no hace. Han pasado nueve meses de su gobierno sin algo concreto. Si acaso la nominación prematura del Premio Nobel, que por cierto nadie piensa que la merece. El mismo Lech Walesa exclamó al enterarse de la noticia: “¡Cómo, ¡tan pronto!”

Su mayor proyecto, la reforma del sistema de salud, camina lento, con una notable oposición de los conservadores que ven con le nuevo sistema el inicio del socialismo en Estados Unidos. De hecho algunos jardines de las típicas casas de los suburbios de la clase media tienen pancartas con la leyenda: “No al socialismo”. Naturalmente los opositores no saben en que consiste la reforma sanitaria que propone Obama, pero menos saben lo que es el socialismo.

Si Obama tuviera un asesor político mexicano ya le hubiera recomendado que diera un golpe de timón. Así como Cárdenas al expulsar a Calles, Ruiz Cortínez al señalar con el dedo la corrupción del gobierno de Alemán, Salinas con el quinazo o Calderón con el apagón de la Compañía de Luz. Fox no dio golpes de timón sino más bien se golpeó con el timón.

Un estudiante de cuarto año de primaria, preguntó la semana pasada al presidente por qué lo odia tanto la gente. Le dijo además “porque se supone que la gente lo tiene que amar (a Obama) y pues que Dios es amor”. La respuesta de Obama muestra los problemas que padece la sociedad estadunidense. Obama contestó que hay que tomar las cosas con calma, buen humor y con un poco de sal. La referencia a la sal se refiere al general romano Pompeyo que trató de hacerse inmune a posibles envenenamientos, ingiriendo pequeñas dosis de venenos para que le sirvieran de antídoto. Al hacerlo lo hacía tomando un poco de sal con las pequeñas dosis. De poco le sirvieron los supuesto antídotos pues finalmente fue asesinado en Egipto donde estaba refugiado.

No tan dramático como general romano, Obama, cree que las críticas las proclaman quienes, frustrados por haber perdido las elecciones, están adoloridos. Otros están enojados y preocupados por las perspectivas de perder sus trabajos o las casas que deben a los bancos hipotecarios. Obama ha dicho que no se detendrá con su idea de cambio, que terminara la tarea y que lo que ocurre es que apenas está empezando. Dijo Obama además que “si eres el presidente de Estados Unidos tienes que enfrentar todo eso, si las cosa salen bien te dan le crédito y si salen mal recibes la culpa”. “Parte de la chamba”, finalizó.

No todo le resulta tan desagradable como que un pequeño le diga que lo odian. Unas horas más tarde de que le preguntaran por qué lo odian, la pasó bien al celebrar el día de la hispanidad, o latinidad, que son eufemismos, porque los latinos ya no existen desde Pompeyo y los hispanos están en la península ibérica y no en los barrios mexicanos de Chicago, Los Ángeles o Nueva York. En la celebración de la “herencia hispana” aceptó la invitación que le hizo Thalía, previa consulta de la artista mexicana a Michelle, al grito de “Macho”para bailar con ella Obama, dio muestras de su ritmo tropical y de sus grandes dotes de bailarín.

Durante su campaña Obama utilizó un lema cuya paternidad no está totalmente demostrada. Yo pensaba que era atribuible a un grupo de padres de familia de Matamoros, Tamaulipas. que acompañó a sus hijos al campeonato mundial de beisbol infantil en Williamsport. El lema: “Sí se puede” que hicieron famoso les hizo ganar el campeonato mundial. El PRI con Roberto Madrazo utilizó el mismo lema, pero ni así ganó. Obama utilizó: “Yes we can” y con ése ganó la nominación demócrata a Hillary y después la presidencia a McCain. Ahora en EU, ante las dificultades generalizadas, los problemas acumulados y las dificultades para iniciar los cambios propuestos, ya se plantea si no será conveniente que el lema tan exitoso sufra una transformación y se convierta mejor en No we can’t, porque todo indica que, por el momento al menos, todavía, quiere pero no se puede.
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