“Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn” reads the final phrase of the classical novel and film “Gone with the Wind.”
But what does this have to do with Cuernavaca municipality politics?
Everything, as its mayor Cuauhtémoc Blanco is telling his constituents the same thing, only in Spanish and in the only lingo this dunce speaks.
“I don’t give a mother,” he seems to be telling the people of Cuernavaca but in Spanish: “Me vale madre” of what Cuernavaca’s residents may think of him.
But this is what the people of Cuernavaca deserve for having elected a political carpet bagger who about the only he does well is cuss and play soccer. It must be admitted, in his heyday as a Mexican soccer star, he was brilliant and played well for the national team.
Last Saturday the Mexican Soccer Federation allowed that he play a “farewell match” with the club he played best with, América, and for the most part the game went well — “Cuau” even got to play nearly half of the time. The homage his soccer followers awarded him was well deserved.
But to play half the time “Cuau” abandoned his duties as Cuernavaca mayor since last Wednesday and has not shown up since. In order to play Saturday he had to train, and disappeared ever since.
Now, “Cuau” is infamous for hitting the bottle — and unless he proves himself different, he probably went out to celebrate like the perfect macho mexicano he is.
This columnist remembers him from the days I covered soccer for the News, and in particular, at a press conference he was once accused by a reporter of being an irresponsible father for having children with a couple of women and not supporting them, regardless of the fact that at the time “Cuau” was making $150,000 a month.
Aware that those of us in soccer journalism were not covering the game for the money but just because we enjoyed doing it, “Cuau” threw a temper tantrum, stormed out of the press room shouting at the mostly university-educated journalists, “I’m not going to talk to a bunch of poverty stricken suckers.” (Note, the “s” is mine.) In Spanish, he said “No voy a hablar con una pinche bola de jodidos.”
I could tell you more stories about his out of the turf behavior but I leave it at that because as far as soccer is concerned, for us journalists he’s just a bad memory.
In any case, Mayor Blanco, not “Cuau” on Monday was supposed to do a duty most mayors do on Monday mornings, which is visit an elementary school and lead the salute to the Mexican flag.
Most likely because he was hung over, Mayor Blanco did not show up at the Juan Álvarez elementary school.
An hour later, he had an official appointment with a group of senior citizens who were going to request the lowering of a tax rate on their properties.
Instead the seniors had to meet with his secretary — who has no decreeing power — Roberto Yáñez, who of course could not solve their issue or in the least stall for time.
Unlike the children, who did not get to see the soccer hero-turned-mayor in person, the group of seniors got truly mad at Blanco and threw eggs, tomatoes and even rocks at the municipal building to soothe the rage and show rejection to an irresponsible mayor to who the people who elected him “me valen madre.”
But the question remains that when Blanco ran he was an amiable and promising candidate who is now making true the old adage that “people have the government they deserve,” that is, the one they voted for.
PS: Spanish lesson courtesy of “The Cuau.”
