Silly Comparison

Caldrerón's comparison of himself to Winston Churchill, which is about as ahistorical and silly as you can get without involving the Nazis, is rightfully drawing a bit of criticism. Jorge Zepeda Patterson says that not only is it a silly analogy on its merits, but it also represents a pattern of thinking that is holding the PAN back ahead of the 2012 elections:

I don't think Mexicans are willing to buy the chance of another panista administration with a narrative that asks them to overcome the "blood and tears" to save the country. Calderón is not Churchill, nor do our fearsome but flamboyant gunmen resemble the German Wehrmacht, with their Panzer divisions and V rockets...

With his obsession with the war against drugs, Calderón reduces the possibilities of his party coming together behind a candidate and constructing an attractive campaign discourse. Maybe the president believes that the best bet for the PAN remaining in power resides in convincing the PRI that if the PRI arrives to Los Pinos it will negotiate with the drug gangs. I suppose he has his polls, but every now and then I ask myself if that propaganda helps the PRI. I suppose that there are a good number of Mexicans who, without saying it aloud, would support some type of agreement with the cartels.

The problem with these comparisons is that eventually they catch up to you. Churchill helped direct an alliance that defeated the Nazis. It's now evident how Calderón is going to defeat the narcos.