As long as man continues to be the ruthless destroyer of lower living beings he will never know health or peace. - Pythagoras

                                              Stop the massacre 

 x Guillermo Cieza: The virus strips capitalism, but it also does social cleansing. The poor, the chronically ill and the elderly die much more 

 And suddenly came a mysterious disease of global reach but that does not affect everyone equally. The virus does not circulate on an ideal, fantasy planet. It spreads in a world where a good part of the population cannot meet elementary and preventive hygiene standards, because they do not have the water to regularly wash their hands. He walks through neighborhoods without green spaces, where there are no streets but corridors, and families are crowded together in damp houses. Walk through a society with millions of people in poor health. Because they have low defenses, suffer from chronic diseases or are living the last years of their life.

 It travels through countries with non-existent or underfunded public health systems. By regions where public hospitals and doctors do not reach. The virus has a global presence but discriminates at the time of death. It is enough to read the news of the last few days: "The greatest manifestations of the outbreak of the epidemic in Argentina are among young people of the middle class and in the wealthy neighborhoods of Buenos Aires, such as Belgrano, Palermo and La Recoleta. The number of deaths has been significantly less. " The virus strips capitalism, but it also does social cleansing. The poor, the chronically ill and the elderly die much more.

 Putting things this way, it is absolutely coherent that the world right, on the one hand, encourages distrust of any medical solution to the problem and, on the other, tries to concentrate the available vaccines. A WHO report indicates that a handful of rich countries account for 90% of vaccines. In Argentina, in right-wing newspapers, political columnists dismiss any initiative to limit the epidemic and tourist columnists comment that trips to Miami, which include vaccination, have become fashionable. It seems obvious to say but the coronavirus is a public health problem, and the fact of not having the most effective resources to face it gives the green light for many deaths to occur that would be avoidable.

 The coronavirus epidemic raises many issues: the limit imposed by nature itself on capitalist productive development; the perversity of the pharmaceutical multinationals, more concerned with profit than with health; Taking advantage of the pandemic to advance digital surveillance and perfect oppressive mechanisms of state control over the population. But these issues should not obscure a central issue: a true massacre is taking place, with characteristics of social cleansing, which in some countries like Brazil already reaches chilling numbers. To stop this massacre, preventive health measures that the population must take are necessary, but vaccination is also necessary. 

Vaccination is not a government problem or a matter of dispute between the ruling party and the right-wing opposition. Vaccination is a public health issue. All the left and progressive forces would have to join forces to demand that the entire population be vaccinated within a peremptory period. The fact that vaccines are produced by multinational pharmaceutical companies or in countries that may be more or less sympathetic to us cannot make us go back to medieval positions.

 I don't remember any discussion about which pharmaceutical company produces Misoprostol [abortion pill]. The question about the vaccine is whether or not it is useful in the emergency. And with regard to the times for debates on other issues, let us remember that times and urgencies are not the same for everyone. For example, the well nourished, with high defenses and good social work or contracted prepaid medicine services, have different times than those who are more vulnerable. 

The coronavirus epidemic exposes the evils of capitalism but also tests the good sense of those who say that we want to change the system. It will be difficult for them to legitimize us as credible if we are not capable of taking charge of the immediate: the pain and suffering of our people. And have proposals.