THE HERMINIO COFFIN FACTORY

Famous is the incident when Herminio Iglesias, the trade unionist who at that moment was a candidate for the governorship of Buenos Aires Province, set a coffin in the colours of the UCR up in flames next to the Obelisck, in the closing Peronist event of the electoral campaign in October 1983. It is widely believed that the disgust this event produced was fundamental in giving Raúl Alfonsín the presidency.

Yet, by comparison with the present ‘K’ campaign, Herminio’s coffin was handmade. With all the ‘coffins’ we are seeing these days, they obviously are now being mass-produced in what, in his homage, we could call ‘The Herminio Coffin Factory.’ Samples of different models are Anibal Fernandez’s comment that he would prefer to put his children in the care of a famous murderer before leaving them to Governor Vidal, or Cristina’s incredible equalisation of the situation in Argentina with the one in Venezuela, and now Alberto Fernández’s intent to destabilise the economy by proclaiming that the dollar is undervalued.

These are just a few examples of the incredible amount of ‘coffins’ generated virtually every day. Actually all this would be hilarious were it not a reflection of politics taken to the worst of low levels. The logical conclusion to be reached is that the final coffin this factory will produce will be buried with the corpse of the ‘K’ movement inside! Still, as I promised last week to do, once again I want to remind you of the tremendous importance of getting out the vote for August 11. Please, insist to your friends and relatives abroad, to those over 70 who have no legal obligation, and very particularly to those who are sceptical and reluctant to vote, that “It’s the Republic, carajo,” and that these coming elections will define the future of various generations. It seems that the Ks are digging their own grave – but I still believe that it is essential that we assist them in the job!