Death of a country

Talking about death, we as writers tend to approach this topic associated with people or animals.

But I want to discuss the slow and painful process of destroying an economy, a country and its people by a government that promised change and progress but just brought a big spoon of the same shit, with different flies.

About two years ago my beloved country was trying to recover from a very bad and corrupt president, followed by one even worst. Of course, the pill for a nations health are elections and we, mesmerized by the glow of the green and electric blue of this party's colors and the convincing speech of the candidate, once again recovered hope and dreamed of a new era.

Everything started perfectly, new government, new policies, all the corrupt structures of the past were being destroyed and the old political leaders, figures of a dark past, were being left as memories.

Oil prices were sky high, and the s accounts were full with money, enough to help the poor and build new infrastructure. Gifts everywhere and everybody was happy.

Of course, a revolutionary government needs a new constitution, with equal rights for all of us and services guaranteed. And then came the truth, policy makers were seduced by power and jump to the dark side, laws were written in dark rooms, and nothing was as it seemed, lies were being told and everything ended in smoke and mirrors.

The campaign started, the president spent all the money he could in convincing us that this was the right thing to do, and as Will Smith said before being eaten by zombies "everything is gonna be alright"�.

After that, we've been living in a constant campaign, we still don't have a president we just have a candidate, with enough power to speak his mind in front of the press, and insult whoever gets in his way. Of course, after the opposition killed itself after decades of corruption no one was left to make us open our eyes and see the finger was inside our behinds and we were loving it.

Suddenly, Fanny Mae and Freddy Mac were caught and went to jail for drunk and disorder, oil prices got as low as a third world single mom budget and world went to hell. The Master of Disaster told us that "the crisis is up there, not down here"� and laughed about the luck of our big brother on the north.

Christmas passed, as the government, we spent all our money in gifts and the first day of January the shit hit the fan. The country has no more money, and we have to "make sacrifices"� to wave the crisis away.

Even so, we understood that they were doing the best for us, and happily accepted that our paychecks don't cover our expenses, and we'll be forced to make a diet.

Amazingly, we're paying this crisis with our jobs, but the state keeps wasting the money as usual, relations with other countries are worst than ever and taxes were imposed to almost everything that came from abroad.

Every economist in the world understands that a country can't survive without foreign investment, and in this tough times every company who wants to bring their deep pockets should be at least be heard. But our president are kicking them away, one by one oil companies are leaving, big construction companies were expelled as dogs and the rules of the game are changed with the mood of the owner of the country.

Banks, treated as mean, evil corporations, managed by Scrooge (sometimes they are) and regulations to them are so tough that our money is safer under the mattress again. And the Godfather's expression "go to the mattresses"� has more sense now than ever.

Of course, if the government gives the banks a hard time, they give us the same medicine of worst.



They aren't giving credits to small businesses; you can't buy a house neither and even think to buy a car. The only way that you get a credit, is if you have the money to cover it, which is exactly the reason why we ask money from the bank. Because we don't have any!!!

The campaign continues, the gifts are still being given, and everything is getting more expensive day by day.

All this "measures"� to prevent the crisis are doing the exact opposite, killing slowly but painfully our country.

Our dollars buy fewer things, and the bills get higher and higher. No one seems to have an answer and the geniuses on key positions still acting like sheeps behind the will of the Big Kahuna president of Toy Land.

Let's hope this april we've learn the lesson and pick someone useful.