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Matador and the Politics of IntimidationBy Victoria Olaya for Ruta Pantera on 11/3/2026 7:09:19 AM |
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| A political cartoon is a strange little act of defiance. It takes someone who may command an entire country, control institutions or dominate the news cycle, and reduces them to a ridiculous drawing. For a moment, the powerful person becomes the joke. And that is precisely why political cartoonists matter. In Colombia, few people have made a career of doing this as visibly as Julio César González, better known as Matador. For decades, his cartoons have followed the country's political life, taking aim at presidents, politicians and public figures. His work has also made him a target. He has received death threats, and in September 2026 the Supreme Court confirmed the conviction of a man who had threatened him and other journalists online. But Matador's story is about more than the risks of being a cartoonist. It is unfolding at a moment when the language and political instincts associated with Donald Trump are becoming part of Colombia's own political landscape. This influence is not merely a matter of politicians borrowing slogans or adopting a similar tone. Trump publicly endorsed Abelardo de la Espriella during Colombia's presidential campaign, celebrated his victory and has since spoken with him directly as president. The relationship between the two countries now has a very visible personal and political dimension. |
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Trump's influence is not something happening somewhere far away, on a television screen. It has a place in our own political conversation. And that matters because Trumpism is about more than a particular set of policies. It has also popularized a way of treating political disagreement: critics become enemies, journalists become opponents, and anyone who challenges the leader can be portrayed as working against the people. Insults become political entertainment. Contempt becomes a sign of strength. The argument is no longer about whether someone is right or wrong, but about whether they belong to the right side. Matador knows what it means to be placed on the wrong side of that line. He has been publicly attacked and has reported renewed threats against himself and his family. At the same time, he is hardly beyond criticism. His own comments about public figures, including the First Lady, have drawn serious and legitimate backlash. I don't have to agree with everything Matador draws or says to understand why it matters that he can keep drawing. As an illustrator, I find it difficult not to think about the vulnerability of the person behind the image. A cartoon can be provocative, unfair or even offensive. It can make someone furious. But its natural answer should be an argument, a rebuttal. Not a threat. Not the suggestion that the person who made it is an enemy of the country. I spent some time living in the United States, so I had a closer view of the political atmosphere that helped shape Trump's movement. Seeing its influence reach Colombia feels different from watching it unfold from a distance. It is one thing to recognize a familiar style of political communication; it is another to see the leader behind it become an active presence in your own country's politics. Matador doesn't need to be a saint for this to matter. He can be criticized, challenged and held accountable like anyone else. But when a cartoonist is treated as an enemy for making powerful people uncomfortable, the question becomes much bigger than whether we like his work. A democracy should be able to survive a bad cartoon. It should certainly be able to survive a joke at a president's expense. If it can't, perhaps the problem was never the cartoon. |
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