Down the curtain 2020

2020 ends, an unusual and complex year, the arrival of a pandemic that collapsed the whole world, triggering unprecedented economic, political and health crises, shamelessly showing the enormous inequality that persists; It fueled social movements, which with a single click on social networks, gathered crowds, denouncing abuses of power, corruption, racism, gender violence, bias towards freedom of expression. It will be a year remembered for presidential victories, visits to space, COVID, the announcement of a new strain of the virus and deaths that shook the new era.

Although COVID-19 had its origin at the end of 2019, it was in 2020 when it expanded to the five continents, experts point out that it had its origin in a seafood market located in Wuhan, China, crossing borders, displaying the first Cases in Europe, Italy and Spain to be exact, which were the most affected in the first instance, the sudden invasion of the virus plus the disbelief of the governments, exacerbated the tragedy. In addition, France, the United Kingdom, Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, Poland, Croatia, the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

The virus, an unpredictable, silent and lethal enemy, daily registers tens of thousands of deaths and infected in the world, it seems that the account will have no end. Some claimed the outbreak was a biological weapon, others an epidemic that appears every century. The truth is that the shortage of hospitals, clinical equipment and medicines were laid bare, streets, parks, public squares, sports stadiums and entertainment arenas became hospitals, common morgues, the news replied that we were living the worst science movie fiction, conjugated with suspense and horror scripts.

Confinement and devastation, aroused feelings of despair and helplessness among society, without losing hope that humanity will triumph in the end. There are those who said that the Third World War started, we saw how world powers, counting hundreds or thousands of fallen, their economies fell precipitously, taking the stock market. From the European continent, it moved to the rest of the world.

In Mexico, the first case was registered on February 28 in the CdMex, we have been one of the worst hit countries, the government took the issue quite lightly, the president has argued that this pandemic fell like a glove, the pandemic it has multiplied poverty, marginalization, unemployment, addictions, insecurity and violence. A health sector that works tirelessly without tools, despite that, they are still in the first line of fire, they are heroes who deserve all our recognition.

In previous collaborations I mentioned that inequality in our country was staged in a video that circulated on WhatsApp, it describes without regard the harsh reality, according to the script, we all suffer the same storm but we sail in different boats, some live confinement in their homes with some economic ease, in country houses, ranches, vacationing, taking advantage of the extended quarantine to detoxify from the hustle and bustle, from the accelerated pace of day to day, to nourish the soul, to strengthen family ties, developing resilience to face the negative effects of crisis.

Others (the vast majority) live in distress, without employment, without social security, without support for their families, they do not have the right to reserve a day at home, they go out every day to expose themselves to the virus. The restrictions were relaxed, the economic crisis forced the color of the traffic lights to be changed to continue with the daily dynamics, unfortunately the citizen inattention to follow preventive health measures does not help to improve, they forget, in red, everyone, without exception, not bad.

Until today, more than 82 million cases and almost 2 million deaths have been recorded; The good news, there are already two vaccines that have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use. The bad thing is that a new strain is advancing, a mutation of the virus, they consider that it will be more contagious. Without a doubt, the virus is here to stay, changing our way of life.

Elsewhere, in November, SpaceX and NASA launched the first commercial manned trip to the Space Station, news reports read: No! You are not reading from the American writer Ray Bradbury; Michael Hopkins, Crew-1 mission commander said: “I hope we are setting the stage, that it is one of those first steps to get us to the Moon and to Mars.”

In that same month, Joe Biden won the most copious and controversial presidential election in the history of the United States, the fed up, the disillusionment of the citizens came out in terror to cast their vote against Donald Trump. On December 14, the Electoral College confirmed Biden’s victory, culminating in a tumultuous period caused by Donald Trump’s refusal to acknowledge his defeat.

After obtaining 306 votes from the Electoral College, the Democrat will be assumed as the 46th president on January 20. What is relevant, too, is that Kamala Harris, the first woman of color to achieve that assignment, accompanies him as vice president. In the United States, progress is being made in electoral parity and in Mexico, we are still passive, at the beginning of November, the National Electoral Institute issued the agreement on electoral parity in governorships, the name of 7 women of the 15 candidates at stake for 2021, they put In check to the political class of the country and the official apparatus outlined the counteroffensive, they challenged this resolution before the Electoral Tribunal of the Federal Judicial Power (TEPJF), which revoked the agreement issued by INE. Incredible, we still live in colonial times.

All this year, the issue of gender violence was daily news, despite the pandemic, in Mexico mistreatment, abuse, sexual assaults, femicides, the 4T continues to err on the issue, women continue being forgotten from the public agenda. Strong groups, men and women from any trench continue and will continue to fight to achieve substantive equality.

Murders such as that of Giovanni López, at the hands of police abuse, as well as the death of dozens of young people throughout the national territory at the hands of organized crime symbolize the other plague. 2020 is considered the bloodiest and most unpunished year in modern history.

Deaths such as soccer player Diego Armando Maradona, former NBA champion and MVP Kobe Bryant, actor Sean Connery, singer and actress Juliette Greco, one of the fathers of rock Little Richard, the second woman to serve on the Supreme Court from the United States and a pioneer in the defense of women’s rights, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the former secretary general of the United Nations, Javier Pérez de Cuéllar, the Argentine cartoonist “Quino” (creator of Mafalda), the rocker Eddie Van Halen, singer-songwriter Oscar Chávez, NFL coach Don Shula, filmmaker Alan Parker, virtuoso Luis Eduardo Aute, actor Manuel “Loco” Valdés, Nobel Prize winner in Chemistry Mario Molina, singer-songwriter Armando Manzanero, among others, they mourned the world.

Although the predictions are more unfavorable for 2021 in all areas, I hope that the year that begins, we will all be participants each from their own sphere, in a new direction, that we achieve abundance, equal opportunities, social justice, legality , peace, tranquility, tolerance and respect, democratic pillars that we long for. With all my heart, I wish you a Happy New Year, filled with blessings, happiness, health and prosperity for you and your families. Let’s add voices with renewed spirits.

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