La ultima conferencia de Carlos Gaviria: Educar para la democracia

Carlos Gaviria Díaz delivered this lecture on March 11, 2015—a few days before his death—to the teachers of the Gimnasio Moderno in Bogotá. It is a reflection on the role of education in a democracy. “What kind of democracy is functional for demagoguery? It is one that addresses an amorphous, absolutely amorphous, ambiguous mass, which is naturally the best thing for demagogues because it is completely manipulable. This mass is in a state of ignorance; it doesn't know where it is going. On the other hand, when one is a true democrat and believes that democracy must be built, what one must do is build the subject of democracy... And the people must be a thinking, conscious, and coexisting community.” The final example he gives of demagoguery is Uribe's failed referendum in 2003.