Hate to the chief

While I’m used to the “black humor” of Mexicans and wasn’t really shocked by the twisted comments I’ve read on some news articles about Diego Fernandez de Cevellos’ “disappearance,” Aurelia Fierros, in Metáforia política sees those comments — and others on Twitter and Facebook — as having a deeper political and social meaning. My translation from El Jefe Diego y el odio (18 May 2010)

“Jefe Diego” was disappeared Friday night. Within hours, several versions of what happened – a kidnapping, a settling of old score by organized crime, revenge for past legal battles, or a shameful attempt to break the political class and the National Action Party – circulated through the social media, none quite matching the official investigation.

Diego Fernandez de Cevallos, the prominent PANista  and former presidential candidate who legitimized the  Salinas government by his endorsement of the burning of the ballot boxes in 1988 when “the system crashed” presumably denying Cuauhtémoc Cardenas the presidency was, as a ministerial report put it, “reported missing.”

Before there was official confirmation of this startling development, a stream of micro Twitter messages, and even more extensive comments on Facebook cheered the disappearance of  Fernandez de Cevallos with coldness, contempt and cruelty.

“It’s divine justice,” said a youth, recounting the details of rumors of the PANista’s death.  Someone else claimed “he’s under his bed, if they look hard enough,” in a clear and mocking reference to the Paulette Gebara Farah disappearance. Others referred to him as a “disgrace” and worse, with some – assuming he was kidnapped by organized crime – praising the cartels and thanking them for their “public service.”

This phenomenon of media communication facilitated by increasing access to social networks by the most heterogeneous and by the most vulnerable in Mexican society undoubtedly reflects the collective rejection of  Fernandez de Cevallos and a general resentment the political class.

The reaction to the kidnapping appears unstoppable.  Within hours, mostly young people, using sarcastic language, had created Facebook pages for and against the presumed kidnappers of “El Jefe Diego.”.

“Because I don’t care about Diego Fernandez de Cevallos!”, “Where is (Jefe) Diego Fernandez de Cevallos?”, “Freedom for Jefe Diego”, Solidarity with Diego Fernandez de Cevallos ” and “We Are All Jefe Diego” are the most widely circulated groups on Facebook related to the case, their names having little to do with the positions taken by their subscribers, most of whom joined up only to continue venting their spleen and contempt for the lawyer and politician.

Although many also defend the controversial character, the worrying thing is that some of the comments are sadistic, nothing more than a sign that the growing social decay that prevails in the country has found an outlet in cyberspace.

Among the publicly known facts about Fernandez de Cevallos rehashed on these site is his 1997 defense of Santa Monica hospital, where Amado Carrillo Fuentes, the famous “Lord of the Skies” died during plastic surgery, and his later representation of Garcia Lopez funeral parlor, which conducted services for the capo under a false name.

Others bring up Punta Diamante scandal in which Fernandez de Cevallos earned millions on land deals in Acapulco, which they say, he received in exchange for facilitating Ernesto Zedillo’s presidential victory  in 1994 after the assassination of Luis Donaldo Colosio, during an election in which he was the PAN presidential candidate.

A naturally dominating – if not to say domineering – personality whom I first got to know as a reporter in Mexico City during and after the 1994 presidential campaign, “Jefe” Diego, won the nickname because of his ballsy attitude, his oratorical gifts and his sharp-tongued  criticism of certain members of the Mexican political elite. However, the controversy over his connections and his ethics, diminished the value of his  intellectual brilliance, the credibility of his oratory and his contribution to democratic transition and the alternation of power in Mexico.

Authorities have not yet revealed the true reasons, or who is behind, the disappearance of Diego Fernandez de Cevallos.  The only clear fact is that the clamor and indignation over the event that is playing out on the national stages clearly demonstrates that Mexico’s collective memory neither forgets nor forgives.