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Second Issue
December 2003 |
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Democracia Directa en Paraguay
by: Guest Columnist The day in the life of an ASA student |
As an open forum, The Yacare welcomes signed letters on pertinent issues from the ASA community, which may be submitted to a staff member or adviser. Letters may be edited for lengh and clarity. Sign articles, editorials and letters to the editor represent the opinions of individuals and do not necessarily represent the opinion of The Yacare of the administration.
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La indiferencia nunca construye la democracia. Se busca gobernar menos para gobernar mejor. La corrupción genera desconfianza y la desconfianza trunca el camino del desarrollo de los pueblos. La administración pública necesita de una sociedad activa en la defensa de sus intereses”. Sebastián Acha Uno de los defectos que presenta nuestra actual democracia es que, precisamente, basa muchos de sus procedimientos en puros aspectos formales como ser el acudir a los locales de votaciones para que el ciudadano emita su voto de confianza en algún candidato, de su predilección, sin que luego se cuente con los mecanismos suficientes para controlar y sancionar la gestión incorrecta de aquellos malos representantes o mandatarios. Nuestra democracia se ha vuelto meramente formal y representativa, con todos lo vicios y defectos que ella acarrea consigo. Nos parece lejana la posibilidad de aplicar experiencias similares como la de Suiza, donde los habitantes participan de manera directa en las deliberaciones y toma de decisiones que más convengan a los ciudadanos, a través de votos electrónicos por correo, por vía telefónica, previa asignación de códigos secretos que impidan la violación del sistema, bajo las formas de referéndum, plebiscitos y elecciones. Este tipo de democracia, directa, es la ideal aunque nunca deje de presentar imperfecciones. Alguna vez lo practicaron los atenienses en el ágora que tras las distintas exposiciones argumentativas procedían a votar las medidas más convenientes para la ciudad. Nuestros antecesores los guaraníes hicieron gala de una democracia primitiva mucho más convincente ya que desde sus AMANDAJE (Asamblea del Pueblo) donde hombres y mujeres, en igualdad de condiciones, formaban parte de las ponencias orales se procedía a votar consensuadamente la decisión más adecuada para todos. Este tipo de experiencia democrática puede volver a vivirse en nuestro país, a nivel municipal o departamental, implementando el denominado Programa de Presupuesto Participativo. El día 24 de noviembre, próximo pasado, tuvimos la grata presencia de un joven representante de la nueva clase política paraguaya, nos referimos al diputado Carlos Sebastián Acha, quien a instancias de una invitación cursada por el Departamento Académico Paraguayo se hizo presente gustosamente para compartir sus ideas con sus contemporáneos. Con sus 26 años de edad, durante su exposición, demostró que los jóvenes somos los verdaderos hacedores del presente y el futuro del Paraguay apostando a propuestas innovadoras, pero sobretodo asumiendo una actitud crítica y de compromiso con la realidad social de nuestro pueblo. Precisamente con el lema de “la indiferencia nunca construye la democracia” dejó en claro que la experiencia brasileña (Porto Alegre-Sao Paulo) puede y debe ser imitado en la puesta en marcha de un Presupuesto Participativo que involucre a todos los vecinos (comunidades) decidiendo en qué aspectos priorizar los recursos locales de una Municipalidad o Gobernación. Manifestó que como nunca se necesitan implementar procedimientos políticos que conjuguen la conveniencia, la necesariedad y la oportunidad con la ética del funcionario político, y que eso sólo será posible con la incersión de los ciudadanos en el quehacer nacional.
By: Guest columnist, Prof Ferreira |
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The day in a life of an ASA Student (Satire)
ASA Jet-Set woke up. He had slept only four hours, which was more than enough according to the “experts”. He could barely get out of bed, but he had to get up. It was already seven thirty, and since he lived three blocks away from school he had to hurry, he had to be there before eight! By the time he was ready, it was seven forty five. He dashed out with his breakfast in both hands, ran through eight traffic lights, and scurried over two pedestrians to be early. He arrived at school at 8:01. He was only a minute late, but HE WAS LATE! No EXCUSES! Not even a tropical storm was a valid excuse. He would have to face detention. ASA Jet-Set hurried to get to math class before the lesson started. He tried really hard to concentrate on the lesson, but it was very difficult because there was a strange smell in the room, as if someone had gone to the bathroom there, that felt awfully disturbing to him. ASA Grasa raised his hand, and asked the teacher to repeat the question; he was copying something down and was not able to hear. Was he crazy? What was he thinking of? How could he be so rude to ask a question!!?? Didn’t he have ANY manners!!?? And the teacher did what is correct to do, she threw ASA Grasa out of class. A few more students asked some more questions, and they were all kicked out. They should know, it’s never the teacher’s fault that students don’t learn, because teachers are always perfect! Students should know this! By the time class was over, it was nearly empty. Two other students were crying because they could not stand the unfairness. It is not permitted to cry! How could they not know? Finally the bell rang, and ASA Jet-Set felt a wave of relief. It was recess at last. It was one of the only times at school that he did not feel worried or stressed. He could chill out with his friends, and have a good time. He left his things in his next class when he heard sobbing. There was a small kid crying outside the bathroom. A few teachers went to him, and asked him what was wrong. He was crying because he had an ARMANI shirt, and his classmate had a NIKE shirt. How cruel! To bring a shirt that is more valuable than your classmates’ was a terrible crime. He would surely be publicly flogged. ASA Jet-Set continued walking; he was trying to find his friends. There they were, in the mangos, and he went and hugged his best friend. Next thing he knew, there was a teacher taking them both to office of fascism, because they could not show ANY feelings in public. They listened to a sermon about public displays of affections, and by the time it ended, it was already lunch. ASA Jet-Set was starving! He had not eaten anything in the entire day. He walked slowly to the cantina, because it was prohibited to run, even an eighty year old grandmother could go faster. When he got there, the food was already cold, and he had lost his appetite. His afternoon classes went on as usual, and finally at three thirty, he went home. However, his day had not ended. He did some homework, and then got to soccer practice. It was from six thirty to eight. The coach had made them run so much! ASA Jet-Set was exhausted! When he got home, he took a quick bath and in a flash got dressed, and ready to go to the CECAM activity that was supposed to take place in the Multi-Purpose room. The activity ended really late and by the time ASA Jet-Set got home, he had loads of homework to finish. He checked his messages but was not able to return any calls, there wouldn’t be enough time. He finally finished his homework in the wee hours of the morning, but he did not complain. This had just been another NORMAL day in the life of any ASA student.
By: Maca and Eli |
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Come Back Tomorrow
“Not only are we victims of the tomorrow society, but we are also guilty of spreading and keeping it alive! ”
What is it with us humans that have had an eternal obsession about knowing the future? It seems like everyone is concerned about the distant future (people like Nostradamus and other prognosticators), but almost no one ever concentrated on what’s going to happen tomorrow. Common phrases like “tomorrow it will change” and “tomorrow never dies” are commonly used today but are they talking about tomorrow as in the day after today or are they referring to years from now? Famous writers like Mariano Jose de Larra wrote essays and novels on the topic of the future. Larra’s essay Vuelva Usted Mañana refers to a community of procrastinators that are easily predictable… They won’t ever have their job done on time. I find this analogous to the Paraguayan (and maybe even universal) meaning of the word “Tomorrow”. Haven’t you ever been a victim that suffered the consequences of the words “para mañana ya va estar?” Just like Mariano Jose de Larra was a victim of procrastination, so was I. It occurred when I went to get my U.S visa, when getting the advertisements for the YACARE, when getting the YACARE printed at the publisher, when I went to the drugstore and asked for a drug that they didn’t have and last but not least, when we were getting the computers installed in R-7. The same thing happened in all of these instances: the answer I got from the people who attended me were, “It’ll be ready tomorrow,” “or please come back tomorrow”. When talking with some members of our staff, I realized that this was common in Paraguay. Mrs. Schneider, for example, told me that all of the bureaucrats that work in public offices have something in common… their first words are usually “come back tomorrow. ” Mrs. Geenen has had the same problem with the dry cleaning many times. “They always tell me that it is not ready yet, and that I should come pick it up tomorrow”. We are all victims of the TOMORROW SYNDROME!! After pondering the subject of procrastination, I realized that if this is a common trait expressed by people of my same nationality, then, I might be part of it too. This is when I realized that I kept postponing this article and when Ms. Geenen asked me where my article was, I told her “I’ll have it done for tomorrow.” So… not only are we victims of the tomorrow society, but we are also guilty of spreading and keeping it alive!
By: Demetrio |
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Girls, what do you do for style?
It is true that nowadays women are extremely self conscious about their appearance. The media shows models of the “ideal” body type that are not real, this is one of the reasons why women feel pressured to live up to very high expectations such as having a supermodel’s body. However, looking at the big picture one can realize that women have ALWAYS had a problem with self image, and that we always tried to be what we were expected to be at any expense. The only difference between women from yesterday and today is that fashion changes with time and therefore what we, as women, are expected to be is different along the timeline of humanity. One important “reinforcer” of this denial of one’s body today is that there are more “gadgets” for women; therefore we have more resources in order hide, change, or even replace parts of our natural bodies. To cite an example, back in the Renaissance era, for instance, it was not “in” to have curves; the goal was to look like a cone. For that purpose, women wore very tight corsets, and they even got to the point of deforming their bodies. In the Victorian Era, women would wear pillows under their huge skirts so they appeared to have a bigger “butt.” And, as if his weren’t enough, women in the seventies actually ironed their hair so it would look super straight, while others slept with rollers and, on the next day, they woke up with a chronic headache. Today, we don’t realize but walking on high heels is definitely a torture if we compare them to men’s footwear. The point is, if at the time there were the same amount of “resources” for women in order to hide our nature, there would have made some drastic changes to their bodies too. I hope that all this stops before women end up looking nothing like their “real” self when they get to a certain age. Without realizing, we are on that path. Nowadays, nose, chin, ear, eyelids, breast, belly and butt surgeries are very common, and I bet everyone that reads this article at least knows one or two women that had one. I don’t think that women are taking into account how many sacrifices we do for style. To name a few things; waxing, sunbathing, hair dying, gym, diets, tons of money spent on clothes, make up and beauty salons, and of, of course, plastic surgery. Again, there is a difference between women who do it “for themselves” and those who do it for others. My opinion is that if all these sacrifices are made for “you” it is more than ok. However, in the past decades women were always trying hard to please a man or just trying to compete with other women, and I don’t think that that is a healthy motive. Today, that is changing. Women are more concerned with feeling beautiful and healthy for a matter of self worth rather than approval of man, and I honor that. So, the question is, why do you do it?
By: Paloma |
