Many countries have found that they have mediocre, ill-intentioned, or simply incompetent individuals for leaders. A power crisis is currently underway which is standing in the way of reaching a global agreement on the pandemic.
Last update: May 15, 2020
One of the aspects that emerged during the Coronavirus pandemic is the crisis of power in which the world today finds itself. There are very few heads of government or state who have proved to be up to the situation, even less those who have shown a real ability to motivate society towards the right course.
If there is an idea that most nations have in common in times of pandemic, it is that of being governed by politicians not prepared to manage such a serious crisis, unable to make decisions in a context of enormous uncertainty.
In general, ours is not an era of brilliant leaders at the front. We can say that improvisation has reigned in recent months, if not lies and incompetence. The power crisis also manifests itself in the impossibility of reaching a common front, crucial in such a situation.
The Coronavirus problem has affected the whole of humanity, yet individualism and selfishness have almost always prevailed. To avoid the crisis of power, creativity is needed, yet at the moment we have seen authoritarianism prevail.
The crisis of power and a debate that does not exist
There are many governments that have spoken of the “economy vs. life” debate to refer to the mandatory quarantine and the consequent interruption of economic activities. For many, common sense says there is no debate: life is a supreme value and the decision to preserve it must be above all else.
The problem with the current crisis lies in the fact that many of our political leaders reveal themselves as such only in normal circumstances. As soon as reality takes on new connotations, they lose consciousness of the situation and they decide to resume the game they know.
We have seen extreme cases like that of the United States, where citizens are advised not to pay attention to the news so as not to get stressed and to try to continue with their usual life. On the other hand, Ecuador continued to deny the gravity of the situation with hundreds of deaths on the street.
The most worrying aspect of the power crisis is that it leads to the loss of life.
A rampant corruption
While mismanagement reigned in the public sector, in the private sector we have seen companies take advantage of the situation to reap the greatest possible benefit. This has led some states to regulate the price of certain consumer goods, such as face masks.
Europol has tracked down more than 2000 websites marketing deceptive, if not dangerous, drugs, passing them off as a coronavirus cure. Not to mention the huge number of cybercrimes. We can therefore say that the private sector alone has assumed a leadership that is more than reprehensible.
On the other hand, deep state corruption has come to light in some countries. In Colombia, for example, where hundreds of thousands of people live in quarantine in hunger, some officials and rulers have raised the price of goods destined for the poorest to make the difference.
Lack of authority and creativity
Many leaders and rulers hold power but have no authority over their people. This is one of the ways in which crises of power and distrust of the population towards their leaders manifest themselves. Sometimes because they are considered corrupt, at others because they show no special virtues, at other times simply because of their ineptitude.
In the current crisis, most governments have followed a plan based on nothing. After the quarantine, steps were taken in the old way to reopen and reactivate production, but without looking at a real innovative perspective.
It is obvious that the situation has taken the world by surprise and that we are only now starting to react, yet there is a lack of creativity from many states.
In some cases, the company has been even more responsive than the government itself. For example, in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) it was the "pandillas" who decreed the quarantine, in the face of the reticence on the part of President Bolsonaro. In other countries, private individuals took steps to produce more respirators, disinfectant gels or masks where they were insufficient.
The current crisis has challenged the capabilities of our governors, many of whom have proved unable to handle the situation. We still don't know how the world will get out of this situation, but what is predictable is that changes in power will take place. Corporations have become more aware of what is truly essential to a state and what is not.
