Colombia’s president Ivan Duque making a fool of himself on a daily basis is a welcome distraction during the COVID-19 pandemic, but could become “the new normal.”
Duque’s daily COVID Variety Show on Facebook may not be a success, but his public performances are becoming increasingly hilarious, except for the president himself.
One day after forgetting to open the congressional year, the president tried to get tough on the country’s war crimes tribunal, only to be reminded of his ignorance by the president of the Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP), Patricia Linares.
“After four years you have to insist,” said the president, adding that in regards to war criminals “after four years we expect them to have been processed and sentenced.”
“Mr. President, one detail. On January 18, 2018 — in this very room — we took possession of the judges… exactly two and a half years ago, not four years,” Linares responded.
The “detail” Duque forgot about the JEP fortunately was not as embarrassing as Monday’s when the president forgot to effectively open the congressional year after his inaugural speech.
Colombia cringes as Duque insults opposition after plunging congress into chaos
The president’s increasingly consistent blunders provide some consolation and distraction for Colombians who are increasingly affected by the devastating effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and Duque’s frivolous response to the crisis of the century.
The highlight of the president’s attempt at leadership was when he introduced cardboard cutout cartoon figures that would allow Colombians to indicate to others whether they were maintaining social distancing.
The policy was never realized after Duque found himself submerged in ridicule on social media, despite corporate efforts to prevent the president from destroying his authority.
WARNING: Watching Colombia’s COVID Variety Show could cause permanent psychological damage
After Linares was done lambasting Duque, RCN Television, which has been accused of complicity in war crimes, reported the exact opposite.
Newspaper El Tiempo, which is owned by Duque’s financial patron, tried to do a similar thing on Monday, claiming the utter chaos caused by Duque was in fact “an opening of Congress in which responsibility reigned.”
The flurry of memes depicting the president as a clown and calls for Duque to resign indicated the opposite.