President José María Balcázar has an inexhaustible capacity to get into trouble through his own mouth. Just a few days ago, his lies regarding the purchase of F-16 aircraft cost him the resignation of two ministers and a motion of censure that seeks signatures in Congress. Now, he has caused a stir internationally with his recent statements about the Jewish community and World War II.
President José María Balcázar has an inexhaustible capacity to get into trouble through his own mouth. Just a few days ago, his lies regarding the purchase of F-16 aircraft cost him the resignation of two ministers and a motion of censure that seeks signatures in Congress. Now, he has caused a stir internationally with his recent statements about the Jewish community and World War II.
Last Tuesday, the head of state gave a brief speech within the framework of the 138th anniversary of the Lima Chamber of Commerce. There, he referred to the work “The Enemies of Commerce”, by the Spanish philosopher Antonio Escohotado, and stated that this book explains, among other things, “how Germany was pushed into a war because of a part of the Jews, who controlled all the banks, all commerce, and carried out usury.” Regardless of the fact that his statement is false – Escohotado’s book does not say that – it ends up echoing a dangerous anti-Semitic hoax that, after the Second World War, sought to ‘blame’ the Jews for the atrocious fate that six million of them suffered in that conflict.
It never hurts to remember that those who pushed Germany – and all of Europe – into the Second World War in 1939 were Adolf Hitler and his mob of fanatics with their decision to invade Poland; an assault motivated by the aggressive foreign policy of the Nazi Party, which was nourished both by a thirst for revenge for the German defeat in the Great War, and by the conception that the German country was the owner of a “vital space” that it had to occupy. And that in this conflict the Jews were victims of one of the greatest shames in the history of humanity: the Holocaust.
Faced with a barrage of criticism – national and international – for his false, irresponsible and indolent statement, the president came out to explain that he was misinterpreted. However, yesterday, at an activity in the Palace, he skidded again. “Who can imagine that Hitler was unanimously elected by the people in Germany and ended up doing what he ended up doing?” (sic), he asked himself. As any informed person knows, however, Hitler was not unanimously elected chancellor of Germany. He did not even obtain the majority of the votes in 1932 and was only able to govern thanks to a coalition. Only towards the end of 1933, with the opposition parties banned and with the Nazi tribes intimidating the voters, did the ‘Führer’ obtain the parliamentary majority that allowed him to guide Germany towards totalitarianism. These nuances, in history, are fundamental.
The president, in case you have forgotten, represents all Peruvians. It cannot be possible that he shows such a level of lightness – not to use another term – when speaking. His words could get the country into uncomfortable and unnecessary diplomatic problems at this time. As, in fact, they just did.
