The one who moves is not in the picture.

By Lilian Briseño

The Mexican politician and intellectual Jesús Reyes Heroles used to say that "in Mexico, form is substance", to imply that the way in which things are presented and seen can be much more eloquent than the explanations given for this or that circumstance.

According to this, everything has a meaning and everything gives a message beyond what is explicitly said. In a political event or any other type of event, for example, it is important to read between the lines to understand the philias and phobias that are not said, but do exist. Who is greeted and who is not? Who gets on the podium? Who eats at the host's table? Who is in the photo? What was not said, but was evident?

There are times when even a misstep can give an impression that was never intended -or maybe it was. I remember here one of the events that deserved an explicit clarification from President Carlos Salinas de Gortari when, after the EZLN uprisings in 1994, he appointed Manuel Camacho as negotiator of the conflict, giving him a leading role at a key moment in the country and somehow overshadowing the "unveiling" of Colosio as the PRI candidate for the presidency. The confusion reached such a degree that Salinas himself had to come out to clarify: "don't make a fool of yourselves", because, in effect, the form seemed to contradict the substance. 

Fidel Velázquez, another big shot in national politics, eternal leader of the workers and of PRI affiliation, said that in Mexico "whoever moves, does not go in the photo". With this, he implied that it was necessary to respect the forms, the times and to show discipline before the decisions, under penalty of being left out if you doubted. Thus, "he who moves, does not get in the picture", became a classic of politics and, obviously, everyone wanted to be in it, so it was better not to move.

Both things happened in Mexico last March 9, during the rally called by the presidentA in the capital's Zócalo, where it was clearly and crudely evidenced that the two premises are still in force. In our country: "form is substance" and "whoever moves, does not appear in the photo".