Sunday March 7, 2021
  • Venezuela
  • Mexico
  • Colombia
  • Chile
  • Brazil
  • Argentina
  • Podcast
Versión Español
PanAm Post
  • Home
  • Regions
    • South America
    • North America
    • Central America
    • Caribbean
  • Politics
  • Economics
  • Opinion
  • Podcast
  • Authors
  • Contact
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Regions
    • South America
    • North America
    • Central America
    • Caribbean
  • Politics
  • Economics
  • Opinion
  • Podcast
  • Authors
  • Contact
No Result
View All Result
PanAm Post
No Result
View All Result

Home » Not so Humble: Pepe Mujica, the Left’s Most Beloved Leader, Is Censoring Art in Uruguay

Not so Humble: Pepe Mujica, the Left’s Most Beloved Leader, Is Censoring Art in Uruguay

Priscila Guinovart by Priscila Guinovart
October 28, 2016

Tags: censuraJosé "Pepe" Mujica
0
0
SHARES
0
VIEWS
FacebookTwitterTelegramWhatsapp
(Wikimedia) Uruguay
Today, the country seems like a bizarre, low-budget film directed by Michel Gondry. (Wikimedia)

Nothing is surprising in Uruguay these days.

In years past, it would have been unthinkable for a vice president who is nothing but a vile liar to remain in office. It would also have been unthinkable that Eduardo Bonomi, who is probably the most inept minister in the country’s history, could stay in command of the Ministry of Interior.

RelatedArticles

Three Signs That Elon Musk Has the World at His Fingertips

Trump Against Suppression of Human Rights

February 1, 2021
Three Key Moments to Remind Us That the UN Is a Nest of Oppressive Regimes

Three Key Moments to Remind Us That the UN Is a Nest of Oppressive Regimes

January 29, 2021

But Uruguay is not what it used to be, and so we simply can’t afford to be that surprised anymore.

In this version of Uruguay, the artist Julio de Sosa painted former president and current Senator José “Pepe” Mujica and his wife, Senator Lucía Topolansky, naked, in the form of Adam and Eve — calling the work Uruguay’s Genesis.

  • Read more: Venezuelan Opposition Announces Historic March against Maduro

Mujica and his wife censored the painting, despite it supposedly being an alleged tribute to the couple. The police showed up — without a warrant, according to local media — at the art gallery where the work was displayed, and removed it.

It seems that the progressive populism the former president has always proposed requires a return to the Middle Ages, or some other ancient time period when nudity is considered a source of shame and condemnation.

In this case, though, it is the self-proclaimed “progressivism” that is being shown naked as it is: arrogant, tyrannical and troglodyte.

But few have realized the seriousness of this matter. Uruguayans have taken the “naked Mujica and Topolansky” issue as a joke rather than what it really is: pure censorship — the same kind progressives claim to condemn, and which has always been associated with dictatorships.

  • Read more: Venezuela Detains Journalists Trying to Cover Opposition March

If a “right-wing” government would have dared to do such a thing, cries would have been heard around the world.

The government has demonstrated time and again that it does not practice what it preaches — and that what it preaches is contradictory anyway.

Diana Saravia, head of the gallery where the painting was exposed, posted on her Facebook page:

… The highly controversial work of artist Julio de Sosa, Uruguay’s Genesis, exhibited in our gallery, was removed from the wall. Yesterday, two policemen kindly visited us to deliver a gentle summons to testify at the police station, and asked us to withdraw the painting from public view.

Everyone knows I’m a public, hardworking and honest person, and I fight every day to promote and keep active a small portion of our national artistic production. I try to give emerging artists a chance with lesser-known works, which may not please everyone and perhaps are not so perfect, but I look for something different in them.

In this case, I saw a share of humor in the painting of this young artist. In times of “drought,” in times of crisis, in times when the desire to buy or appreciate art is suppressed, it’s necessary.

Support for artistic expression is necessary, and it is necessary to be free to express it. Art is free, and I think it is not right to condemn it.

In such an small country like this one, the cultural benefit would have been immense. Thousands of people in one way or another express themselves through some artistic discipline. No one … is thinking about injuring or annoying anyone; what we do is for the love of art, and we love to do it.

Never in a democracy has an artist been forced to testify at the police station because of a work of art. But we should no longer be surprised when we’re talking about the Uruguay of today.

Tags: censuraJosé "Pepe" Mujica
Previous Post

What Everyday Life Is Really Like in Cuba Under Raúl Castro

Next Post

Empty Venezuelan Streets Send Powerful Message to Maduro as Businesses Go on Strike

Priscila Guinovart

Priscila Guinovart

Priscila Guinovart is an Uruguayan teacher and writer. She has written for outlets in Latin America, the U.S., and Europe. While in London, she wrote her book La cabeza de Dios.

Related Posts

Three Signs That Elon Musk Has the World at His Fingertips
Columnists

Trump Against Suppression of Human Rights

February 1, 2021
Three Key Moments to Remind Us That the UN Is a Nest of Oppressive Regimes
Analysis

Three Key Moments to Remind Us That the UN Is a Nest of Oppressive Regimes

January 29, 2021
Dollarization Advances in Venezuela with Debit Cards for Foreign Currency Accounts
Argentina

Argentina Drags Chile in its Bipolar Madness Over Venezuela

January 28, 2021
Dollarization Advances in Venezuela with Debit Cards for Foreign Currency Accounts
Analysis

Dollarization Advances in Venezuela with Debit Cards for Foreign Currency Accounts

January 28, 2021
Mexico, the Dilemma of Voting for a Comedian or an “Alleged” Rapist
Mexico

Mexico, the Dilemma of Voting for a Comedian or an “Alleged” Rapist

January 27, 2021
Maduro’s “Miracle Drops” Against COVID-19 Pass Twitter’s Filter
News

Maduro’s “Miracle Drops” Against COVID-19 Pass Twitter’s Filter

January 26, 2021
Next Post
Empty Venezuelan Streets Send Powerful Message to Maduro as Businesses Go on Strike

Empty Venezuelan Streets Send Powerful Message to Maduro as Businesses Go on Strike

Discussion about this post

Subscribe free and never miss another breaking story

  • Venezuela
  • Mexico
  • Colombia
  • Chile
  • Brazil
  • Argentina
  • Podcast

© 2020 PanAm Post - Design & Develop by NEW DREAM GLOBAL CORP. - Privacy policy

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Regions
    • South America
    • North America
    • Central America
    • Caribbean
  • Politics
  • Economics
  • Opinion
  • Podcast
  • Authors
  • Contact

© 2020 PanAm Post - Design & Develop by NEW DREAM GLOBAL CORP. - Privacy policy

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it. Privacy and Cookie Policy.