The Hate of Correa

Wow. One of the things I hadn't realized while I took some time off from writing about Ecuador is just how much a certain class of people (generally those who have access to the internet) HATE Rafael Correa.

Of course, he's always had his detractors: from the moment he dismissed congress (or had congress dismissed) for interfering with the approval of his plans to hold a constituent assembly, Rafael Correa has irked those who saw his government as a threat to private property and ostensibly democracy. Now, many of the individuals who make up the 'unofficial opposition' have became so radical in their hate that they've essentially given up on reason in exchange for paranoia and conspiracy theories. Email threads suggesting the entire police uprising was orchestrated by Correa flood in-boxes with many willing to believe anything that conforms to their pre-determined understanding of the world and the narrative they've constructed for themselves. Rafael Correa is the anti-Christ: he has scales on his back and hits babies with puppies.

As an impartial observer, I can't write without people criticizing me being pro-Correa. Unless I curse his name with every mention, I must be on his side. Otherwise, the fact that I'm now 'abroad' means that I'm too far detached from the situation to understand how bad things are.

What all of this means is that Correa's opponents now replicate his personality by refusing to listen to alternative positions or compromise on the ideology that frames their view of the world. Open and constructive debate amongst these people is dead: you are either with them or against them. It's as if the entire opposition suffers from wide-scale group think: if everyone in your family and social circle believes the same thing, and they all repeat it enough, it must be true, right?

The sad truth is that many of Correa's detractors have become as intolerant of different ways of interpreting events as they claim him to be. Earlier today on Facebook I wrote, "Si dejas que el odio te consume terminas entregando tu razonamiento a tus enemigos," which translates as, "if you let hate consume you you end up trading/offering your reasoning to your enemies." I worry less about Correa's ability to topple democracy in Ecuador because Ecuadorians have a very low tolerance for bad government. Besides, at a certain point he'll be gone and someone else will take his place. What I do worry about is the ability of democracy to thrive in a country where not conforming to a certain view of the world can get you ostracized from your family and friends. After all, Correa is not democracy: the people are democracy. The only way for Correa to 'acabar con la democracia' (to finish off democracy) is for people to stop being democratic, for government is but an institution whereas democracy is a value: if we throw out our democratic values because we're consumed by one leader's personality, we haven't really gained anything by his overthrow, have we?