{"id":167,"date":"2012-09-20T15:50:03","date_gmt":"2012-09-20T15:50:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.up.edu.pe\/blogs\/csanborn\/Lists\/EntradasDeBlog\/ViewPost.aspx?ID=24"},"modified":"2022-10-13T06:04:16","modified_gmt":"2022-10-13T06:04:16","slug":"nadine-and-the-power-elite","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.up.edu.pe\/csanborn\/nadine-and-the-power-elite\/","title":{"rendered":"Nadine and the Power Elite"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"nadine-gala.jpg\"<\/div>\n
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\u00a0\u200b\u201cThe President denies that he co-governs with his wife\u201d, is today\u00b4s provocative headline in\u00a0El Comercio<\/a>.\u00a0Humala\u00b4s comments are in reference to the annual\u00a0Encuesta d<\/em>e Poder<\/em><\/a>\u00a0(Power Survey) published this week by the polling firm Apoyo, which places First Lady Nadine Heredia second only to her husband in the list of Peru\u00b4s most powerful people, a fact which has caused much\u00a0noise in the national media. \u00a0 Why is this so?<\/div>\n
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The\u00a0Encuesta<\/em>, published annually since 1981, is not a public opinion poll. \u00a0It is a questionnaire sent to a select group of opinion leaders, or what Apoyo refers to as \u201cstrategic minorities\u201d \u2013 including politicians, technocrats, journalists, intellectuals, business leaders, heads of universities and NGOs,\u00a0and\u00a0subscribers to Apoyo\u00a0publications (first DEBATE, now\u00a0Per\u00fa Econ\u00f3mico<\/a>). \u00a0Although the total number of questionnaires sent is undisclosed,\u00a0around 250 replies are received\u00a0each year. \u00a0I should confess that I am among the fortunate who sometimes (but not always) receive\u00a0the survey, and sometimes (but not this year), respond. The 2012 invitation went like this:<\/div>\n
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[blockquote source=\u00bb\u00bb]\u201cDear\u00a0Sirs<\/strong>: Cynthia Sandborn (sic):
\nIn Per\u00fa Econ\u00f3mico we consider you to be part of a reduced group of opinion leaders, whose reading of national events is sharper than that of the common citizen. Therefore we invite you to answer our Encuesta de Poder. This should take just 15 minutes of your time. \u2026 \u201c.[\/blockquote]<\/div>\n

These sharper-than-average people are asked to list up to ten Peruvians who, \u201cdue to their position, capacity or personal prestige\u201d, have the most power in this country. While initially Apoyo defined power for them, as the capacity to influence the course of national events in a significant manner, since 1995 respondents have been left to define the concept for themselves. The questionnaire also asks about\u00a0power in various professions, including business, religion, the military, law and\u00a0the media. \u00a0Since 2008, the poll has added the arts,\u00a0sports, show business, and the Web. \u00a0This year \u00abintellectuals\u00bb\u00a0were eliminated and\u00a0\u00abchefs\u00bb were\u00a0introduced, a fact that did not go unnoticed amongcritics<\/a>,\u00a0although Mario Vargas Llosa remains in the Top Ten.<\/p>\n

What the survey shows us, therefore,\u00a0is what a small segment of the national elite \u2013 perhaps more\u00a0older men, probably\u00a0more\u00a0center-right —\u00a0thinks about power. \u00a0And surprise! \u00a0After the President, they think power is largely held by\u2026 people like themselves. \u00a0Or they want it to be that way, judging by who respondants\u00a0say\u00a0should<\/em>\u00a0have more power (ex:\u00a0PPK). \u00a0 Sometimes this elite perception mirrors that of the broader citizenry (El Presidente<\/em>\u00a0is everybody\u00b4s #1 choice), and sometimes it is way off (as in 2010, when Humala was not even remotely considered). \u00a0\u00a0It also took them awhile to realize the power being constructed by the Shining Path in the 1980s, and they quickly forgot about it once the movement\u00b4s\u00a0leader, Abimael Guzm\u00e1n,\u00a0was jailed.<\/p>\n

This year\u00b4s survey has received more public attention, because for the first time a woman is in the #2 spot. \u00a0 This is not the first time that First Ladies appear on the list \u2013 the wives of presidents Belaunde and Toledo were also in the Top Ten during their husbands\u00b4 first year. \u00a0And there have been other women on the list. \u00a0Nine, to be precise. \u00a0In 31 years. Three first ladies and six politicians, three of them\u00a0Fujimoristas<\/em>. \u00a0Pathetic, really.<\/p>\n

Yet Nadine\u00b4s power is seen differently, and bothers more of these folks. \u00a0 Center-right politician Lourdes Flores even suggested that Humala read\u00a0El Varon Domado<\/a><\/em>\u00a0(The Dominated Male) by Esther Vilar, a 1971 tract which argues\u00a0that \u00abmen are trained and conditioned by women, similar to Pavlov\u00b4s dogs, to become their slaves. \u00a0As compensation for their labors, men are periodically rewarded with a vagina\u201d. \u00a0 \u00a0Heady stuff! \u00a0 Interestingly, in the same survey 78% of the respondents approve\u00a0of the Humala administration, in which Nadine is allegedly the Dominatrix. \u00a0 The President says that criticism of her pure machismo. \u00a0Is he right?<\/p>\n

Although I did not send back the questionnaire this year,\u00a0the editors of\u00a0Per\u00faecon\u00f3mico<\/em>\u00a0kindly asked me for an opinion on Nadine, before her much criticized role in a\u00a0rescue operation \u200b<\/a>involving childen and the Shining Path. \u00a0\u00a0The following is a rough translation:<\/p>\n

The Power of Nadine<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

The power of Nadine Heredia has been evident since the presidential campaign, in which she successfully played three roles: central figure in a\u00a0young model family, co-founder of the Nationalist Party, and strategic advisor to the candidate. \u00a0At the outset of this government she already figured third in the Power Survey, and this year\u00a0she moved to second place. Although I think it is exaggerated to say that she co-governs, she does wield power in a different and greater way than other first ladies of Peru.<\/p>\n

Where does her power lie? \u00a0First of all, she is the trusted anchor in the changing entourage of a president who was little prepared for the turbulence of democratic politics. \u00a0Her influence also lies in her professional skills, in communications and the social sciences, and her charisma and ability to deal with media,\u00a0which contrast with the communicational limitations of Ollanta Humala. \u00a0Her high public approval level (62% according to the latest poll) offsets the more volatile ratings of her husband, and the affection she generates among the poor is an important asset for a government whose main objective is social inclusion.<\/p>\n

Is it right that she exercises so much power? \u00a0 Conservatives say no, that she\u00a0should dedicate herself to social teas and charitable works. \u00a0 Indeed, with similar arguments former President Alan Garcia dissolved the office of First Lady in 2006, and his (former) wife played the role of the traditional, self-sacrificing spouse who worked with the poor but didn\u00b4t interfere in public policy. \u00a0Yet such roles are getting harder to sustain. \u00a0Today it is common that both members of a couple have professional aspirations, and in politics it is common that they join\u00a0the same party and share the same vision for their country. \u00a0 Like it or not, when a candidate (male or female) has a partner, voters assess them both as possible representatives of the Nation.<\/p>\n

So when one is elected to the highest office, what should the other do? \u00a0 If he\/she works in the private sector, there could be conflicts of interest or security issues. If he\/she accepts a purely decorative role, it leads to frustration. \u00a0 Another First Lady known\u00a0for her political protagonism, Hillary Clinton, famously said \u201cI suppose I could have stayed home and baked cookies and had teas, but what I decided to do was fulfill my profession, which I entered before my husband was in public life\u201d. \u00a0\u00a0Although harshly criticized for that remark, Hillary played key roles in education and health policy reform efforts in her husband\u00b4s administrations, then went on to be a presidential candidate and Secretary of State.<\/p>\n

In Latin America, the Kirchners embodied the Power Couple, but there are other examples. \u00a0In Uruguay, Luc\u00eda Topolansky shared party militancy with her husband, Jos\u00e9 Mujica, and became the top-voted senator in the last election. \u00a0In the Dominican Republic, lawyer and former first lady Margarita Cede\u00f1os was just elected Vice President. \u00a0In Guyana, Janet (Rosenberg) Jagan went from union organizer to First Lady to Prime Minister and President. \u00a0 In El Salvador, lawyer and human rights activist Vanda Pignato, who helped build the Workers Party in her native Brasil, is both First Lady and Secretary of Social Inclusion.<\/p>\n

Hence although the traditional figure of First Lady is sadly out-dated, perhaps it is best not to eliminate it all together, but modernize it. \u00a0Establish it as part of the Executive, with gender neutrality, clearly defined tasks, and a transparent budget, according to the skills and priorities of each Administration.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0\u200b\u201cThe President denies that he co-governs with his wife\u201d, is today\u00b4s provocative headline in\u00a0El Comercio.\u00a0Humala\u00b4s comments are in reference to the annual\u00a0Encuesta de Poder\u00a0(Power Survey) published this week by the polling firm Apoyo, which places First Lady Nadine Heredia second only to her husband in the list of Peru\u00b4s most powerful people, a fact which
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