Among Fans

The appointment of Alfredo Saade should surprise no one, but it should concern everyone. The left, particularly the Petrista faction, will turn a blind eye, as they have each time the president disregards the most fundamental principles of all democratic lefts around the world. The Petrista left is not motivated by civil liberties, individual rights, or the idea of a genuinely secular society, nor is it genuinely concerned with more equality (despite how they fill their mouths with that word); it is driven by resentment, a force with deep political roots and a loud presence in our current moment. And in the name of resentment, anything goes.

Of course, resentment is powerful and extremely effective, possessing the wonderful ability to bypass ideologies: yesterday it brought Chávez to power and twice it placed Trump in power, not to mention its capacity to choose characters like Javier Milei. Mauricio García Villegas explained this wonderfully just a few days ago: “A person may say they are right-wing or left-wing, monarchist or republican, but stating that ideology does not reveal the essence. The essence comes from within, from the emotions that drive them to declare themselves republican or monarchist, left or right.”

This is exactly what happens among us. Petro has always known this, ever since he was mayor: resentment drives him more than any other emotion, and this is evident in each of his speeches, every tweet, and all of his outlandish visions. But now he has allowed it to completely dominate him, or to dominate his movement—and the final months of his government—over any other consideration or idea. This is why he can be surrounded by violent misogynists without it seeming inconsistent to his fanatical base. And this is why he can make appointments like that of Alfredo Saade, which should scandalize any genuine democrat.

The issue runs deep. Three years ago, in May 2022, when Colombians were fully immersed in the presidential campaign that led us to our current situation, I wrote a few lines in this newspaper that I now bring back. (I apologize to my readers for the rudeness of quoting myself, but I do so with a defined purpose.) “I do not share the enthusiasm that Petro generates,” I wrote at the time. “This disastrous country needs significant changes, but do not ask me to see the solution in his delusional positions, which force him to explain himself for three days every time he opens his mouth (about pensions, elevated trains, expropriation, or social forgiveness: whatever). Do not ask me to see the solution in his unhinged messianism, which is reflected in the rhetorical violence of so many of his followers and reminds me too much of Uribismo fifteen years ago, whose own rhetorical violence we endured when we denounced Uribe’s excesses back then.” And to conclude the quote: “Do not ask me to trust in Petro’s too-close relationship with Christian leaders like Alfredo Saade, who promise millions of votes without anyone appearing to realize that they will demand much in return.”

Everything has worsened in the three years since that article: messianism has intensified, now packaged in incoherent language at best and incomprehensible at worst; rhetorical violence has escalated from using the adjective “Nazi” to label everything that moves to calling their political opponents slave owners, even blaming opposition senators for the deaths of their followers. As for Saade: I do not know if this appointment is the long-awaited payment for the votes the preacher or pastor promised at the time, but I believe Laura Ardila when she says in El Espectador that in Valledupar, no one understands his appointment as chief of staff: “Votes?” she writes. “Alfredo Saade does not have any. In Cesar, he is known as a minor politician who runs candidacies to then ally with some winning horse that will return the favor with a position.” No: what seems more likely is that this appointment seeks to place an unscrupulous man in a position of great power. Because Petro has long been uncomfortable with scruples.

This is why he can, leading a movement that claims to be progressive, appoint a reactionary fanatic who resembles a mix between Alejandro Ordóñez and Cardinal López Trujillo: Saade has devoted considerable energy to rejecting the legalization of cannabis and condemning abortion under any circumstances, which goes against two central ideas in the Pacto Histórico program. But he is also a declared homophobe who has tweeted against same-sex marriage—“marriage between homosexuals is pure nonsense,” he elegantly wrote—or that a couple of years ago, when the government adorned the Colombian shield with the colors of the gay pride flag for a brief celebration, he demanded that the changes be undone with an unforgettable phrase. “We do not want to homosexualize the country,” he said. And then: “Order begins at home.” How revealing those two words are: order. What a fearsome temperament lurks behind them.

All these inconsistencies are part of Petro’s known temperament. Of another order are the statements with which the pastor or preacher has made very clear his democratic credentials: this is not only regrettable within a progressive vision but also concerning for any notion of democracy. Indeed, Petro has appointed to a place of trust—and of great, great power—a man who has publicly called for the closing of Congress, who has urged Petro’s followers to march against critical or skeptical media, who has labeled the Foundation for Press Freedom as paracos, and has gone so far as to ask the president to revoke licenses for media outlets he dislikes. “The best thing that can happen to this country,” he said or wrote, “is for journalists to understand that if they love Colombia, they must support the government of change, the government of Petro.” He has understood nothing about journalism or about love. In another tweet, he said: “Want a Bukele? Give them a Bukele.” In both quotes, I have taken the liberty of correcting the punctuation, that marvelous invention.

This is how Petro operates, like every populist in low hours, surrounding himself with people whose sense of democracy is questionable but whose obsequiousness or servility is beyond doubt. Saade has passed through all ideological camps in Colombia, knocking on the doors of the Centro Democrático with the same ease with which he now rails against Uribe and those who vote for him. He is an opportunist, in other words; he is also a fanatic and an intolerant; and it is very telling—and very unsettling as well—that Petro wants him so close, whispering in his ear, organizing his days and activities in these electoral times (but now all times are electoral times), instead of wanting a genuine democrat, or one of the most rational or competent figures in his movement. His party, the left, and that abstract entity we call democracy are all losing. But among fanatics, they understand each other.

It terrifies me to think that the campaign has only just begun. Yes, yes: it will be long months.