Literary constitutionalism?
By: Luis Beltrán Guerra G. - 08/08/2024
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The book PAPERS? Some less serious than others, which we present today, July 24, at the El Buscón Bookstore in Caracas, go hand in hand with the date on which Simon Bolívar was born, the Liberator not of a quarter or a half, but of five nations. In “El Bolívar de Gabo (one of the Papers)”, “those with good and bad memories” are so remembered that this historical warrior proposed a “Botton of Form”, that is, a “State of states”. He called it “La Gran Colombia, in principle, to praise the name of Columbus, the discoverer of the new world. Centuries later, the disaster that plagues the liberated countries continues to sadden us. And how it seems from worse to worse and that “we have transcended from animals to Gods.” But he still gives the impression, in the opinion of a few, that we do not know what we are, or where we are going.
Markus Mross of the University of Hamburg in “The Demon of Solitude” points out: Bolívar seems not so much prostrated by fever as by disillusionment. The Constituent Congress is about to meet, in a belated attempt to save the golden dream of continental integrity, as well as the chain of personal frustrations that seems endless and strengthens the already existing failures. We also read, “the executions of the Liberator have not ceased to be “the primers,” in which, in addition to learning “who we are,” we enlighten ourselves regarding “how we should be.” A question has become eternal: Have we understood it and acted accordingly? My answer is no, this is what Quito native Genoveva Tinedo points out, in an imaginary narrative that in the book portrays a meeting at María Flores' house in “the historic center of Quito.”
Getting closer and much further here after Bolívar's feat, something is written in the book, regarding the “Venezuelan Knot” and its probable similarity with “the Gordian”. The latter is born when the oracle is asked who to choose as king, with “Gordias” being the privileged one. A farmer whose heritage was a cart, which he offered to the temple of “Zeus”, but tying the spear and the yoke with a “knot” that was embarrassing to untie. Thus “the Gordian knot” was born. In Caracas, the episodes, for a mooring like the farmer of Turkey, some attribute to the “progressive decay” of the system of freedoms established in 1958, in conjunction with the attacks to which he was subjected, including by his own parents, his friends and collaborators. “In the country, “the mooring” and “the knot”, in principle, were about to be untangled in the presidential elections held on July 28. Let's read anyway the pages related to Venezuela: Story or Novel", in which we turn to the book by the Spanish Juan M. Piedras entitled "Stories on the Road" in whose pages highlights "a great concern for social inequalities, the incomprehension and loneliness of the human being”, the drama of the unemployed individual, the paradoxes of double standards and the hypocrisy of false saints. “We would like this to be the meaning of our story.” It is quite the opposite, for which it is enough to note that such circumstances limit us.
We cannot help but refer, regarding the constitutional formula as a development methodology, to Walt Disney. Well, if we were to translate “the republic” that “Walt” built into reality, there is no other qualification that could be attributed to that genius who died in December 1996 than that of “The Magical Constitutionalist.” This is what “The Paper” explanatory of the assertion is called.
Those of us who write experience a stillness that is still strange, because it changes when we ask ourselves: will people like this, will someone get angry, and what will be the fate of so many pages? Will they read them? We would not like to accept, although we limit it in the epilogue of these Papers: “The writer who intends to live with what he writes down must read “The Myth of Sisyphus” daily, since it is about pushing a rock to the top of a mountain. and see that before arriving it was rolling in the opposite direction until it reached the starting point. Albert Camus, therefore, can be helpful in insisting: do not give up or lose hope!
Encouraged by that advice, it would be encouraging to meditate on Rómulo Betancourt, The Great?, who began his harangues with “fellow citizens”, continuing with the word as President of the Revolutionary Government Junta, not forgetting it in his letters. as an exile, and reverberating it in his electoral campaign for the second democratic presidency that he led and, of course, for 5 years established in accordance with the Magna Carta. Not one more day. Asked by a member of his party about his alleged communist whims in Costa Rica, he stated, “I have always done my tricks outside the country. Other interesting analyzes are still significant. Fidel Castro, Who was, is and will be?, Why am I not a democrat?, Venezuela Between two Octobers?, Matarile rile ron?, The balloons or tall tales, Bergoglio, Between potatoes?, Has he been lost? everything? Why am I not a communist? and The evils of socialism.
The paper titled “Crossed death in the middle of the world” is particularly nice, since it aims to imply the constitutional decision, similar to a key in wrestling that Ecuadorians call “crossed death” and that allows the executive and the legislature are dissolved early to call elections. It is not so strange, to the extent that Guillermo Lasso recently applied it in the most critical constitutional period, perhaps, that Ecuador has experienced.
But with a little more satire and black humor, let's turn to chapter IX, “The role of women”, drawing attention to “The right to sex or sex as a right”, by Jenifer López. Women and men realize that they must go before Morpheus and Melatonin, to pages. 279-282 (of the book), in order to verify that Milan Kundera in “The Unbearable Lightness of Being” wrote that “female coquetry is an invitation to sex, but without guarantee.” And after a couple of minutes of reflection, read the first paragraph along the following lines: Jennifer Lopez has demanded in “the premarital agreement” with Ben Affleck, the obligation to have sexual relations “at least four times a week.” It will be up to you to decide if the Bronx diva's methodology is advisable or not. There is doubt as to who got upset first, her or him, because for a segment of “the media”, the marriage seemed to fail.
The book Papers? Some less serious than others, it has not had very good luck since July 24, when we presented it, at the El Buscón bookstore in Caracas, with great hope for the destiny of Venezuela, as that day was the anniversary of the birth of Simón Bolívar , since the presidential elections held on the 28th of that month have not generated the climate that democracy demands. More like a deep uncertainty. We ask God not to get it into our heads to ask ourselves: Venezuela, story or novel?
This book consists of a little less than “80 Papers”, so I invite you to read them. But not to write them, unless you swear to observe the final paragraph of the Epilogue: “The success with what is written is “encouraging” and the favor of readers “stimulating”, but these are supplementary gains, because a good writer will continue writing anyway, even with his shoes broken, and even if his books don't sell.” This consideration of the genius of García Márquez.
A pertinent question before finishing could be structured like this: Will Venezuela be inserted in “Lying Constitutionalism?” The answer: It is better to go to the “literary”!
In Editorial Jurídica Venezolana you will also find, by the Constitutional Lawyer, the prologue by Roman José Duque Corredor, Pedro Manuel Gómez Tillero, El Elector, with a prologue by Asdrúbal Aguiar (in which we read Luis Beltrán Guerra, jurist and intellectual with extensive State experience and steely university professor of Public Law, assumes the difficult task typical of veterans in apparent repose - of moving the chair to the street and he does it as I appreciate, to involve ordinary Venezuelans in the management and understanding of the social pact and the laws. laws that theoretically coming from his hand assure him a citizen's position and an orderly coexistence under the cannons of democracy"), Gregorio The Conversant in a Stunned Venezuela, with a prologue by Allan Brewer Carías and the Constituent Theory explained in some lessons by Petra Dolores Landaeta , with prologues by Julio Rodríguez and Carlos Ayala Corao. And on Amazon Juan Rivas El Repitiente, with a prologue by Carlos Canache Mata, Horacio Contreras, The Illusion of a Soldier, with a prologue by Carlos Sánchez Berzain and Humberto Najaim and the Just Society. The labyrinth of Ifigenia Fernández, prologue by Cesar Vidal (The last three, also, in Ramdon House Editores, Seville, Spain). There are more sources of “literary constitutionalism”.
If we ask ourselves once again, will Venezuela be inserted in “literary constitutionalism?” God willing the answer, maybe that way we would understand each other better.
In our next installment, count on the list of works written before venturing into “literary constitutionalism.”
Comments welcome.
«The opinions published herein are the sole responsibility of its author».