The relentless vigilante

The burning question: when will Minister Joaquim Barbosa announce his candidacy for President of the Republic?

According to his press office, Veja magazine stated, "I think the time has come to leave," referring to relinquishing his black cape. The repercussion of his statement was so great that the following day he was forced to release a statement denying his potential candidacy in 2014. Let's wait for the next chapters.

His persona, the ruthless vigilante, used to be more convincing. After the renovation of his functional bathroom at a cost of 90.000,00 reais, the purchase of an apartment in Miami in a highly unorthodox operation, his verbosity unbecoming of his position, legal and procedural violations already widely questioned by jurists and professionals in the field, the flight to Maracanã to watch the national team in a private box with Luciano Hulk – who happens to be his son's co-boss – and the 11-day vacation trip to Europe paid for with public money – to give two lectures, one of which was thirty minutes long – I suspect his superhero image is fading, or perhaps even being revealed!

But then I go on Facebook and see how many fans he has. It's frightening. A person who, at the slightest setback, is capable of freaking out. Look, if in a house where he presides over eleven people from his social circle, he can't manage the slightest coexistence and cordiality with almost all of its members, what about in a nation as heterogeneous and unequal as ours?

Analysts are starting to look back, and we're seeing some pieces falling into place. This frantic and desperate attempt by the mainstream media to make us believe we're living in total chaos, the old and worn-out 'sea of ​​mud,' like in '54 and '64. Then the Savior of the Nation emerges, an outsider with no connection to traditional politics.

We've seen this story before. And it's been shown more than once. I prefer to believe that the ruthless, vigilante, and champion of morality character will have a reverse Félix-like trajectory.