Last update:
Last week’s drama over the release of a taped conversation between three city council members and the former president of the Los Angeles Federation of Labor has no end in sight. De Leon’s refusal to resign—even in the face of mounting political pressure to do so—reminds me of one of my least favorite concepts in Latino culture: machismo.
“Everyone can make mistakes,
but only an idiot persists in his error.”
– Cicero, “Philippians” (44-43 BC)
Increased demands for the resignation of city council members Kevin de León and Gil Cedillo appear to have no effect on either of them. Cedillo doesn’t bother me. I live in his district. We got sick of him and voted him off before any of this drama started. And I’m glad we did. His smugness during that conversation deserves his place among fanatics.
De Leon’s actions, however, remind me of a passage from Mexican author Octavio Paz’s Sons of La Malinche, which describes macho and how he perceives the world around him.
“The macho represents the male pole of life. The expression “I am your father” has no paternal flavor and is not said to protect or direct another, but to impose one’s superiority, that is, to humiliate… [t]that essential attribute of macho – power – almost always appears as an ability to injure, humiliate, annihilate.
Taking his role on the LA City Council, de León took on the role of parent or guardian for his district, his city. And so male chauvinist father, he ignores the calls and demands of his constituents and colleagues as they demand his resignation.
“The essential attribute of macho – power – almost always appears as an ability to injure, humiliate, annihilate.
– Octavio Paz
The last sentence strikes the strongest chord with me. De León definitely showed that he has the ability to injure and humiliate. His supporters downplay his actions, trying to shift the focus to the developments in the Latino community that he has helped usher in. They try to tone down the ignorant comments and disparaging remarks he made about his colleague Mike Boni and his child.
This is disgusting, but it is machismo way. of macho cannot admit defeat, or admit guilt. for machocomplaining of pain, confessing fears, failures, or worries all come at the risk of losing status and respect among peers—and falling further down an invisible social ladder based on delusional ideas about alpha males.
Save face first, worry about the rest later.
Researchers at Harvard studied the impact of overmasculinization in the workplace. Not surprisingly, they found that the impacts were generally negative: Working for or with a macho man means dealing with an infallible ego, high-stress situations created by that ego, and even you get angry when things just don’t go as planned.
“Simply put, cultures of masculinity competition are toxic to organizations and the men and women within them,” the study says. “In extreme cases, such as Uber, the pressure cooker explodes, severely damaging or even destroying the organization.”
How anyone can’t see that there is a serious issue within the walls of our government buildings still boggles my mind.
I return to Paz, who draws a parallel between macho and the conquerors who conquered and eventually colonized more than half of Latin America, and things start to make sense.
Thousands of people whose tax dollars pay De Leon’s salary and pension want him gone, and he doesn’t care.
“It is impossible not to notice the similarity between the figure of macho and that of the Spanish conqueror. This is the model – more mythical than real – that defines the images of the people in power that make up the Mexican people: caciques, feudal lords, hacienda owners, politicians, generals, captains of industry. They are all men… “
They are imitating the conquerors—selfish, power-hungry men, undeserving of the positions they held. The very fact that they imitate the behaviors and characteristics of the conquerors shows how little they could care for others.
They are imitating the conquerors—selfish, power-hungry men, undeserving of the positions they held. The very fact that they imitate the behaviors and characteristics of the conquerors shows how little they could care for others. Thousands of people whose tax dollars pay De Leon’s salary and pension want him gone, and he doesn’t care.
He reminds me of the capitalist accident and the ex-trains of a president, Donald Trump. Both have made racist comments. Both have gaslighted others or downplayed their role in the face of criticism. And both refuse to go away even though we love them.
Regardless of how this plays out, de Leon’s reputation will forever bear the stain of his “mistakes” and the poor handling of those “mistakes.” That may end up being the only satisfaction we get out of it all.
