Javier Firpo
03/06/2021 1:58 PM
Clarín.com
Society
Updated 03/06/2021 1:58 PM
Is it easier to leave the province and seek other horizons, or to stay and
fight against an abusive government, which has been in power for more than 25 years,
in the midst of a largely submissive society that depends on state labor?
Formosa is one of the
poorest and least developed
provinces
in
Argentina, ruled by Gildo Insfrán since 1995, designated as a despotic leader.
"
The struggle is from within
, if we are not familiar. I am willing to sacrifice and fight for freedom and democracy ...
It is very difficult but someone has to start
."
Agustín Rojas is 20 years old, he is from Monte Grande, Buenos Aires province, but he has lived in Formosa since he was 8. His parents, from the northern capital, work privately and perhaps because of that "independence", the boy decided to be one of the promoters of the Youth for Freedom movement, which
"annoys Big Brother a lot", as the youth of those payments nickname Insfrán
.
"There is a thought police, a ministry of truth and everything is arranged in a dystopian way according to the boss's story," the panorama traces.
Some call him a "youtuber", also an "influencer" and even a "social agitator".
Agustin prefers to define himself as "
a political social actor but not a militant
, because I don't scratch my balls, on the contrary, I never stop working," says the person who lives with his mother, an English teacher and her father, a merchant.
"They are concerned, they believe that something could happen to me because of my daring, that they could kick me, but they
also understand that it is our generation who have to try to twist history
."
Clarín
spoke with Agustín on Friday morning.
Hours later, in the march in which dozens of Formosans protested the return of the hard quarantine and that the Police violently repressed, the young man - and 92 other people - ended up detained.
This newspaper tried to contact him again this Saturday, but it was impossible.
Agustín did upload a Storie on his Instagram account in which he said that he was released, but denounced that he was beaten at the police station and anticipated that he will go to court.
The photo and the text that Agustín uploaded to his Instagram account.
Agustín is a charismatic leader despite his young age.
From the age of 16, he began to see with bad eyes what was happening "in this beautiful province that saw me grow and develop,
that adopted me, that I love so much and do not want to leave it without leaving my grain of sand
. Since March 2020 we have come conducting marches for human rights for those who were stranded at the border for months without being able to enter. We were consistent and the number of young people between 20 and 30 years of age grew and
today we are between 1,500 and 2,000 and since November we have become relevant
. "
With strength, encouragement and fervor, Augustine says that "we are a pain in the ass for the government of Machiavelli, because
Insfrán is Machiavelli
, who said: '
He who controls the fear of people, it becomes master of their souls
.'
Here no one ever marched against the government in 25 years
, and
the society, although it is divided, began to wake up, to see with pleasure that the Youth for Freedom are one of the answers to a need to stand up and say enough to the abuses of the government ".
The young man emphasizes
tactical and strategic work
that consists of going out to march every week, walking through the neighborhoods and feeding social networks to communicate and disseminate.
"We also speak with people our age whose parents do not allow them to touch on certain issues, but we are clear that these kids today are rebelling and even asking: '
Why did you vote for Insfrán?' And parents don't know what to answer
. I think that thanks to our presence and insistence no longer loosen, today it was achieved that there is
dissent in the Formosan family table,
until recently ... a utopia. "
Friday's march in Formosa that ended with injuries and 93 detainees.
Agustín is proud of being one of the engines of this fight that is concentrating more and more followers.
"
Since
I can
remember I have heard about Insfrán as governor, a feudal and authoritarian lord
who takes the votes thanks to political patronage. We have the momentum and the age to carry out a cultural battle that can take a long time, but it is already installed and we are not going to give in.
If we do not fight today, when?
I am a patriot, I love my country, I love Formosa, a devastated and impoverished land, with
a mediocre, state and indoctrinated society
. "
Agustín's combative -and resilience- spirit began during high school, a thorny time for him because he
was a victim of bullying
.
"He was more chubby than now and they drove me crazy, they used to strip me, they grabbed me between several and
they gave me just because I was plump
."
Until in silence he began to take the bull by the antlers.
"I lost weight and took self-defense courses that raised my self-esteem.
When the attacks were repeated, I already defended myself and they did not hit me anymore
. I felt that I could and when you feel that you think that you take the world ahead," says who will study Law and International Relations.
Since then a committed young man emerged, a fighter and above all concerned about society.
"I needed to express myself, say, denounce and luckily I got a job at FM 89.3, an independent radio station where, in addition to being a mobile phone and covering the news,
I host a program called 'Noches de libertad'
(Tuesdays and Thursday, from 20 to 22), which is a breath of fresh air for young people who still believe that it is possible. It is a program that we do with other colleagues, in which
we work freely. It is a reflection of what we do in the streets
".
"The fight is from within, if we are not familiar with it. I know it is very difficult but someone has to start," explains Agustín.
In the image he is in a school waiting for the Secretary of Human Rights Horacio Pietragalla.
Brave Agustín, let it be known that he is not a "kamikaze", but that he learned to cross the border with intelligence and cunning.
"On the radio we go to the bone and
we know that they listen to us, they chase us, I have my phone tapped by the Gildo police
, and I know that the police chase us with their now famous Hilux flats, but I don't care. I don't confront them either. the barrabravas that the government sent when we went to march in support of deputies Waldo Wolff and Mónica Frade, whom they wanted to imprison for trying to enter the province. "
Another example of his daring was when he waited, together with a handful of colleagues, for the Secretary of Human Rights, Horacio Pietragalla, when at the end of January he toured the isolation centers for two days, denounced for violating people's freedoms.
At the end of a meeting he had in a school, Agustín, who was waiting for him on the street, went "to
ask him to play his role as a public official and to give the pertinent answers
. He got nervous, he chicaneled me, he didn't know what to say. and he left in a tinted car. At least he found out that in Formosa we are no longer afraid. "
"We know that they are listening to us, that they are chasing us ... I have my phone tapped by Gildo's police, but I don't care, I keep going."
How would a 20-year-old who says "be present, not future" define the Formosa enigma?
"First, we must emphasize that
almost no Argentine cares about what happens in Formosa, we are the ass of the country,
the sewer where all the shit is concentrated. And those who give their opinions from other provinces respond with a 'Fuck you for voting for it. Insfrán ', not knowing how the guy wins the elections. Paradoxically, all this is the main motivation to fight to get ahead, it is an obligation and our generation cannot look the other way. We have done a lot,
we found weak points in the government and we know that we are on the right track
".
From his social networks, Agustín harangues his generationals to fight in whatever is necessary.
"
We will put on our boots and fight on all fronts to stop the caudillismo
. And be very careful with young people, with this movement, do not underestimate us, it would be the worst thing that Insfrán and his government could do ... They would be surprised", this young man who regrets having friends and acquaintances who have left the province is encouraged.
"I understand them, I could not ask them to stay and fight it, because
it is a feeling that springs from your guts, that is not inoculated
."
"We are no longer that meek and calm society, the young people are shaking the older ones, who are encouraging themselves to rebel," says Agustín, a tireless "walker" from the capital of Formosa.
Why do you think President Alberto Fernández praises Gildo Insfrán as "one of the best politicians and human beings"?
"Because
the president wants a
Formoseñization
of Argentina, with a meek society
, with a clientelistic vote and also because of the ability that Gildo demonstrated in all these years in which he has concentrated power since he knew how to have the means, the provincial resources and he knew how to
fix
elections. He is not a moron, he
is Machiavelli, he has planned every inch of what he will do on the last day of his political life
. "
Attentive to every detail that "this authoritarian government" executes, last Thursday and Friday Agustín summoned the young people to marches to the Provincial Government House to counter Insfrán's order to return to phase one in the capital, after detecting 17 positive cases of Covid.
"This is bullshit, once again the individual freedoms of people are annulled.
Don't you realize the damage that this generates? It is a huge damage to psychological and physical health to people
, but also irreparable damage to SMEs who wander agonizingly, "he had said earlier to Clarín.
The police repression in the mobilization on Friday ended with injuries and 93 detainees, including Agustín.
How does a 20-year-old explain this intransigent government measure?
"It is convenient for Insfrán that there is no circulation, that schools are not open, that people do not move, because he feels comfortable in this position and with the militarized streets. But we are no longer that meek and quiet society,
we young people are shaking the greatest, who are daring to rebel
... we say enough, it's over. "
"For as long as I can remember, I have heard about Insfrán as governor, a feudal and authoritarian lord who takes the votes thanks to political patronage," says Agustín, here in one of the many marches that he promotes.
Enraged, a mixture of impotence and indignation, Agustín demands "that the names and surnames, the swabs and the personal situation of the 17 people who supposedly tested positive be known.
Do you think the town is stupid? This is no more
, there is no right to be prohibited from circulating, going out to work and opening a business. We are already aware of how to take care of ourselves, as happens in other provinces. We are
fed up with the Insfrán government and its subjugation of human rights
. Are you expecting more demonstrations and what there are dead? Do you want that? ".
What would you say to Gildo Insfrán if you had him face to face?
"Sir, have the dignity to present your resignation and be accountable for all your actions after so many years. You have governed with lies and corruption and have
only impoverished the province. It is enough for you to visit it to see in what conditions you left it"
.
And with a grimace of satisfaction he dares to say: "He is no longer an untouchable. What has been shown in recent days is that we no longer bow our heads. Society must be convinced of civil disobedience to put an end to tyranny. ".
ACE
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