Pablo Escobar: A Platform for the People
How do you choose who you vote for? The political partisan is largely influenced not by political self, but more so by one’s social identity. Green, Palmquist, and Schickler would argue that party affiliation is largely based upon “comparing a judgement about oneself with one’s perception of a social group,” (Green 8) such as the idea that minorities will generally align with the democratic party. Individuals will often consider whether a social group such as republicans or democrats will fit them better based on how they identify themselves in their beliefs and values.
The TV show Narcos loosely follows the story of how Pablo Escobar, the notorious Colombian drug lord, rose to power through drug trafficking. However, the excessive wealth he accrued was not enough to assuage Escobar’s desire to run for president of Colombia. Escobar paid off the New Liberalism party, which was known for representing the people of Colombia, to run as their alternate candidate in the upcoming election. Having grown up in poverty, Escobar describes himself as “a poor man with money” and believes he would be able to understand those who would identify with the New Liberalism party. When he finally runs, he does just that, handing out stacks of one-hundred dollar bills to those in need. The New Liberalism party won in a landslide because of Escobar, and because he was able to relate to the people in Colombia struggling to make a decent living. They felt as though Escobar represented their values, beliefs, and interests better than anyone else running did.
Amidst the fact that Escobar earned his fortune from exporting cocaine into the United States and left a trail of bodies in his wake, he was elected and essentially worshipped by many Colombians. Regardless of how he earned his money, his supporters voted for him because people tend to “ignore or deflect information that is inconsistent with their party attachments” (Green 7). Green, Palmquist, and Stickler believe that social identification forms the basis for party affiliation; and that this party affiliation plays an extremely large role in determining who people vote for. Regardless of how much cocaine they’ve smuggled.
