The President

The President

After reading Facundo, I wasn’t sure what to expect from this novel. That being said, I find this narrative much easier to follow!

I couldn’t help but think of Arthur Miller’s The Crucible while reading this book. The passage that initially triggered my memory was when General Canales cries “But I’m innocent! Why should I be afraid?” To which Angel Face replies “Whether you’re guilty or innocent is irrelevant...what matters is whether you’re in favour or not with the President...” (p. 63). The narrow-mindedness and disregard for the individuals being wrongfully accused characterized the government’s effort to eradicate perceived social ill. The unwillingness of those in power to believe individuals, such as General Canales, are innocent contributes to the hysteria gripping the society.

I was outraged reading chapter 18, especially page 128 when Don Juan calls Don José Antonio Canales to ensure he (José) won’t let Camila in. Don Juan and his wife are “trembling” in their shoes for fear that the “neighbourhood [would] be up in arms” if they would take their niece in. Asturias does such a good job conveying the hysteria gripping the characters which allows them to believe that those whom they have always considered upstanding people (e.g. General Canales) to be capable of committing unbelievable crimes (i.e. assassinating Parrales Sonriente).
I’m still not quite sure what to think of Miguel Angel Face, he is quite the paradox. Part of me feels that he is an evil man, an adviser to the president “wicked as Satan” (p. 37, 38, 96, 101...shall I go on?), solely empowering himself to occupy a higher rung in society. The other part of me, however, feels that he is a “beautiful” (p. 37, etc) person and shows compassion to Camila in her hour of need.

Going back to my point about hysteria, this novel reminds me of Rosas in Facundo because he uses violence and fear as a form of ruling a people. It seems that this president leaves his people in a state of constant fear, not sure of their fate because “It’s a lottery...the only law on this earth... [it] can send you to prison, have you shot, make you a deputy, a diplomat, President of the Republic, a general or a minister!” (p. 102). The metaphor that life is a lottery describes the typical state of the country where confessions are extracted and truth is obscured.