So today, on the way home from Boston, I picked up the local (free) Spanish-language newspaper, El Planeta (full disclosure, I am not a fluent Spanish speaker, because I have a rather hard time understanding the spoken language. However, being fluent in Portuguese, and having studied Spanish as a hobby for 4 years, I have almost no problem reading the language, and readily read Spanish language newspapers, as Portuguese language ones are harder to come by) and was only mildly surprised to read what Ilan Stavans, a prominent Mexican-American writer had to think of Obama. (Note: I could only find this article on one website online, which I will post at the end of the diary, however it was missing some important parts as compared to the El Planeta article, which is the one I translated. I will update the diary as soon as I can find the full essay, hopefully it will be up on El Planeta's website (tuboston.com) sometime this weekend, as this is a weekly newspaper, and this issue just came out today.) (Also, my translation is as literal to Stavans' original words and ideas as I possibly could make it.)
Enough rambling and disclosures, on to my translation of Ilan Stavans' article on Obama.
Obama, Republican
It's time to judge how our President has done. His score, I fear, is quite low. Barack Obama arrived to the White House in a messianic-like wave. He's the first African-American president in the history of our country. A man who calls himself black. His wife, and his children are black. His credentials as an advocate for civil rights are impeccable. His rhetorical ability is enviable. The same for his wish of compromise.
Sadly, these characteristics have not helped him very much. On the contrary, they have contributed to our nation's paralysis. We knew that he had very little experience in the diplomatic arena. This defect was emphasized by his critics. And that his words could ring hollow. His critics were right. In the years leading to his resounding Presidential victory, Obama had good intentions. His problem: he has not turned his promises into reality.
The failing economy he has inherited from George Bush follows an insane zigzag downward. Instead of focusing on the problem of unemployment, he instead has devoted himself to the problem of our external debt. He killed Osama bin Laden with impunity and vengeance. At the same time, poverty expands. And the disaster that is the broken immigration system continues to increase.
All this, to me, shows a blunt reality. Obama was elected as a Democrat. Not just a Democrat, but a liberal Democrat. However, we have been witnesses to an astonishing transformation. Today, his rhetoric, his economic ideas, his view of gay marriage, his support for the wars are ideological ideas that fit far better with the Republican Party.
In my opinion, from negotiating so much with his opponents (I nearly wrote enemies), Obama has become one of them. Where is the activist that spoke to us of his readiness to lead a divided nation? What happened to the man who invited us to dream of an era of equality?
The United States today is a country on the brink of bankruptcy, if even that. Our schools are falling apart. The collapse of our urban areas is deplorable. The pavement is cracking. The number of police officers, firefighters and other public servants have been reduced to a skeletal level. Racial tension is reaching enormous levels. And one of ten people are without a job.
There's only a little more than a year left until elections. Nobody in the Republican party dazzles, even Mitt Romney. This lack of interest shouldn't worry Republicans. Their candidate is already in the White House.
(All emphasis is mine)
It isn't just Stavans' who is disappointed. The front page of
El Planeta was decrying the over one million people deported by the Obama administration. Hispanics are becoming increasingly fed up with a President who seems only to care for the rich and powerful, and does not (and seemingly cannot) follow up his impressive words with impressive actions.
The only version (in Spanish) I could find online (for the moment) is here:http://www.impre.com/...
If anyone would like the full article (in Spanish, from El Planeta) I have it typed out, and can send it to you.