Obama Seems to Be Made in Mexico

He was the perfect candidate: He broke all molds, exasperated his old-fashioned and traditional opponents, inspired millions, overcame barriers that seemed insurmountable, motivated those that never had voted. He made history.

His freshness and self-confidence left the political establishment stiff and obsolete. He used communication and marketing tools like nobody else, efficiently exploiting the views that people never seem to get sick of: their desire for change and hope for a possible future.

After beginning with everything against him, he diluted the skepticism of the political analysts bit by bit, conquered the resistance of the upper echelons of his own party to win the nomination and with a simple and direct message connected with the common voter.

He showed how a human being — [an] “any citizen” — came from behind to generate a wave of enthusiasm without precedent, trashed to bits the myths of the political class, destroyed taboos and captivated those within and outside of his country’s borders.

His name was written in history the day he won the election. He reached the highest point in his career. Today many wonder if the post should have been given to someone who wanted and knew how to govern; as soon as he took possession, the reality overwhelmed him and he had to take on the burden of [being] president that made him lose his freshness and serenity.

The enormous snowball formed by an expectation that was constructed during his campaign became an avalanche pursuing him downhill. His speech in praise of democracy and openness changed rapidly into a constant complaint about the same democratic system — a divided congress, the touchy vigilance of the media and the pressure of the interest groups — that places limits on whoever intends to command a country.

Out of a large list of campaign promises, he only managed to crystallize one or two important initiatives that were adopted and very vague. After a few months, hope turned to disenchantment; the dissatisfied became angry and demanded a better quality of life.

His romance with popularity ratings came to an end. Lacking in achievements, his team of collaborators intended to make up for the decline in his personal image by having his daughters frequently appear in gossip magazines and encouraging his wife’s leadership. The yield did not result in positive points, but in widespread criticism.

Polls of likely voters showed the scary picture: As he approached the halfway mark of his term and the midterm elections, their acceptance gave way and his party was dragged to a painful defeat.

All of this happened to Vicente Fox. Sorry if anyone thought it was Barack Obama.