The phrase “government shutdown” can be understood in two ways: either the Government closes something, or someone has closed the Government; or perhaps the Government has closed down. But understanding the relevant meaning in Spanish would require more context. We know what it means to close a business. But how do you close a government? The expression lacks a history in our language and political systems that would allow us to form an idea of what is being communicated with such words. And just as we decode what it means to close a company, we ignore what the strange decision to close a Government would entail. Would all our ministers be trapped for days in La Moncloa, or the Casa Rosada, or the Palacio de la Moneda, caught in a meeting?
Spanish-language media have covered the U.S. “government shutdown” in two phases: nearly seven years ago and now. They were referring to the situation caused by the disagreement in the Senate when it came to agreeing on the financing of the entire administrative framework. In that country – they will know why – the previous year’s budget (which expires in October) is not automatically extended unless it is replaced with another, and this turns off the tap of public money and sends everything to hell. Museums closed, inspectors at home, payments that are not paid…
This blockade, as you can see, is no joke, because it also puts 42 million people at risk of starvation; a segment of the population that receives benefits and in which Trump sees mostly Democratic voters, who seem to care less. But it also leaves all federal officials without pay, who began going to food banks a few days after the closure.
The situation in 2019 (even with Trump) lasted 34 days; and now there are 43. Democrats have rejected budgets until they received assurances that health aid or other social measures will not disappear. Republicans responded that their opponents plan to subsidize the undocumented. The latter is legally impossible, but they don’t care. Eventually, some Democratic turncoats broke up the bloc.
With this panorama, could we talk about government closure? No. The government continued with such confidence. The Administration, the support of the North American public system, is closed (and only partially, since essential services are safe, whose workers have remained at their jobs… without being paid).
In the USA we tend to identify the Government with the Administration, concepts that we clearly distinguish. There Administration sometimes it acquires the value of “Government”; and in turn government takes on the meaning of “Administration”. For this reason we speak of “Bush Administration” or “Obama Administration”, which for years have been erroneously translated here as “Bush Administration” or “Obama Administration” (without the preposition From). In the case at hand, the original way to call the situation is “Government Shutdown”; and in fact it literally equates to “government closure”, but in our country it would be better understood as “partial closure of the Administration”. Or, better yet, “closing the box”.
The recent newspaper headlines in this regard gave us an illusion which was quickly dashed when reading the news. The US government hadn’t really shut down. Confidently! Not even its president had shut his mouth. 43 days of peace of mind that we would have earned.
