What lies behind the political man? What does the official who makes decisions affecting millions of Mexicans hide from us? What is his life like? What does he do for entertainment? How does he behave when living a certain normality? It’s a mystery we often can’t uncover. Fortunately, this is not the case for Marcelo Ebrard, who opens the doors of his heart to us as if it were an Airbnb. Indeed, this week we learned that behind the tough negotiator with the Americans, the man who, during the Lopez Obrador administration, bought everything from pipes to vaccines while also being foreign minister and upholding Mexican diplomacy, behind that figure of power is a sensitive and loving man: Papá Marcelo.
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Few things in a man’s life are as arduous as being a father. From tender childhood, one moves to unbearable adolescence and, it is supposed, at some point, to uncertain adulthood. Of course, like everything in life, it is not without its disappointments, moments of bitterness, anxiety, and frustration. Why is the child like this? Why does this insolent boy answer me that way? Why doesn’t he answer when I ask him? Does this pre-teen know how to do anything more than hold out his hand to ask? When the hell does this supposed growth stage end? How did I traumatize him? Parental paralysis in conflicts with children is varied, as one can be accused of being an absent father or of constantly meddling in the offspring’s life; either of these can be terribly traumatic for the young person. Freud has given millions of children an incredible alibi.
Papá Marcelo, a moving figure in national public life, is currently going through these kinds of problems. Surprised by news that one of Papá Marcelo’s sons lived for six months in the residence of the Mexican embassy in London, the pater familias flew into a rage. Everything has a limit, and a responsible father knows that. With children, no. Enough is enough. What’s wrong with it? Where’s the abuse? It would be bad if he had stayed seven months. What bothers them? The malicious criticisms have been aimed at someone who only wanted to be a good dad, as those of us who practice this complicated, long-term profession have yearned for at some point. What is my sin? Papá Marcelo angrily asks. Is being a father, worried and involved, a sin? Is getting the young man a place to live at the expense of the work of Mexicans now a crime, something worthy of attention? No sir, that’s petty. Parenthood is generosity and understanding, above all. Besides, he’s almost a child, now around 30 years old. What harm could the little angel cause? Envy, the venom that a successful man awakens, seems to have no limit. That’s why, in the face of insidious attacks, Papá Marcelo came out to remind us what he did for the country: yes sir, he obtained vaccines for millions of Mexicans while his son was in London enjoying the official residence. Is this how Ebrard’s enormous sacrifice in his work is thanked, by miserably complaining about his little son who lived off the backs of Mexicans? Truly, how cynical and ungrateful. Papá Marcelo knows what he’s doing, which is why he emphatically stated: “I see no abuse on my part.” And if there were, so what? He only sees “a father’s concern for his son.” Of course, Mexican fathers are always worried about their children in London; it’s very typical of these lands.
The cursed breed of journalists has no satiety and no feelings either. That’s why Papá Marcelo explained how it all happened in such a casual way that it could happen to anyone. It turns out that the ambassador to the United Kingdom is appointed, and the foreign minister tells her, more or less: “Hey, my son is going to be over there and all that, what do you think if you keep an eye on the boy? You know, so he doesn’t stray from the fold.” She replies, we assume something like this: “Boss, I’d be delighted, send him to my house, I’ll treat him like a son” (a phrase that can provoke both security and terror). It is known: there is no more selfless embrace than that of a subordinate. So Ebrard proceeded and dispatched young Marcelo Patrick to the English metropolis to dedicate himself body and soul to saving Mexicans with vaccines and to his presidential career – which is like fatherhood: it never ends. “I will always be grateful to Josefa,” said the former foreign minister, thus giving a lesson in sensitivity to the petty reporters. Above all, gratitude. No matter the condition, a father must always set an example for his children and others. Envied by fellow travelers, Papá Marcelo set an example by standing up for himself and his family, in addition to chastising the enemies of good government.
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What a difficult time this man went through, who is, above all, a close and concerned family father, yes, but also devoted to his homeland, which does not always reciprocate as it should. But Papá Marcelo knows that, as the English playwright William Shakespeare said in King Lear: “Sharper than a serpent’s tooth it is to have a thankless child.” A complete father knows how to bear the bitterness of relationships on his shoulders. Only one who loves selflessly understands suffering.
Surely our eventful political life will give us another occasion to appreciate our rulers not as cold and calculating, ambitious, and constantly feuding individuals, but as affectionate, and close, exemplary as friends and as fathers, who show us the Papá Marcelo they have within.
@juanizavala
