viernes, 11 de mayo de 2018

The Republic of Miranda, or The Oppositionist Surrealism



By: Luisana Colomine   

Tuesday, Apr. 24th, 2018.

06:57 AM

On Capitolio TV, we saw, online, the "historic" session of the National Assembly where they had approved a preliminary hearing on merit against the President of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro.
The agreement was voted on by 105 opposition representatives (which were 112, but some spend their time travelling), including two nationals held in contempt. For the revolutionary faction, the courageous Juan Marín (PSUV, United Socialist Party of Venezuela) and Ilenia Medina (PPT- Patria para Todos, or Homeland for All in its English accronym) chanted "no" and they were ridiculed.
The day's agenda was sparse: "Solely: Consideration of the request for authorization to continue the procedure for citizen Nicolás Maduro Moros."It didn't mention who was making the request, much less the Supreme Court "in exile," nor did it clarify the "procedure".
It was a nominal group vote and each person, before saying "Yes," yelled whatever: "Freedooooooom! We're hungryyyyyyyy!" and they all applauded themselves. One representative, with the last name Guaidó, compared the spectacle to that of the 19th of April of 1810, but later corrected to say that, rather, here they were reviving the spirit of the 5th of July of 1811 because that particular act "wasn't legal either" (or rather, according to Guaidó, Venezuela's Act of Independence was crap).
But this movie has a beginning: the Supreme Court "in exile" - via Twitter - notified President Maduro that, "In exercise of the powers conferred by Art. 91.3 of the Constitutional Law of the Supreme Court, we hereby notify you, by way of this Twitter account, of the advancement of the preliminary hearing on merit, which is pursuant to you. Hon. Miguel Martín, President." In another scene that unfolded in Bogotá, Colombia, the "itinerant," Luisa Ortega Díaz, presented "proof" of corruption against Maduro, present before 13 presiding justices, because the others were "virtually present."
They're institutions without offices, but especially without country, since everything they do will be through WhatsApp, Instagram, Telegram, or little text messages (emojis included), and they'll have presence of mind to think only in 280 characters without much behind it.
A holographic country, imaginary, like the Republic of Miranda. Today we have this surrealist story that recalls "The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie"(Buñuel, 1972) and its six main characters: Don Rafael Costa, ambassador of the Republic of Miranda (let's say Antonio Ledezma or Julio Borges); the Thévenots (Henry Ramos and Diana D'agostini); the Sénechals (Lilian Tintori and Leopoldo López) and a corrupt bishop who moonlights as a gardener (he could easily be played by any figure of the national Church). This select group of bourgeois is invited to dinner, but because of a misunderstanding they have to go to a restaurant, where they are also not able to eat because the owner of the place has died. Meanwhile, they talk about nothing in particular (like in the "historic" session), for example, about the importance of ice for shots, that "...have to be top shelf. Very cold, very strong and at 32°C," or that in order to cut the leg of a lamb, you have to be standing...
Suddenly, the curtain goes up and they appear seated at a table in a theatre, as characters in some play. There's an audience who, in turn, is seen by another audience. A dream within a dream. While they try to understand what is happening, a hidden prompter off-stage (could be Almagro, Rajoy, Trump, you choose) continuously dictating what they must say and do because they don't know their lines. The session ended and we definitely think that Buñuel's genius was ahead of its time, and that the Republic of Miranda is the MUD...

 Read the original article in Spanish, here: La República de Miranda o el surrealismo opositor 

 
 
English Version: Brandon Joel Queen
Email: brandon_joel_queen@yahoo.ca
Twitter:@BrandonJoelQ 








No hay comentarios:

Publicar un comentario