Charles Davis Aug 12, 2014:

Context I agree with Phil here. It's really impossible to say which English expression would be most suitable unless we know the context in which the expression is being used, and specifically whether it is political or not. The question header says "sarcasmo político", and that fits the PRI reference, but the way the question is phrased suggests that it may be a non-political context. If it is political, "Go fight City Hall" might fit well; if not, something else (along the lines of "like getting blood out of a stone", or "battering your head against a brick wall", for example) might be better.

DLyons Aug 12, 2014:

History Goes back at least to 1912
http://books.google.com/books?id=dkwMAQAAIAAJ&pg=RA5-PA49

I'd always associated it with Mayor Daley of Chicago (the father) but it considerably predates him since his career only started in the 1930's.

DLyons Aug 12, 2014:

@Phil It's a common phrase in some circles. Following are from Google Books
"You can't fight city hall "City Hall" has traditionally been used in the United States to mean the local town or city government. The figurative meaning of this saying is that you can't win in a dispute with the local government."

"'Go fight City Hall.' (A lot of good it'll do! ) The more normal English is 'You can't fight City Hall.' The expression has been played on in picture squibs of an American Jewish weekly, the American Examiner: 'Go Fete City Hall' "

"Your sense of control in a small town is the opposite of that urban sense of frustration expressed in the aphorism, “You can't fight city hall.” Actually, as a kid growing up in the city I never completely believed that you couldn't fight city hall, ."

""You can't fight City Hall" has become a modern American maxim. You bet you can fight City Hall. People do it all the time — and change the programs, priorities, and occupants of government offices."

"On the contrary, it means that one cannot fight City Hall. The speaker is really saying, “Don't bother me with your problem; take it up with the powers that be in government—and you won't get anywhere"

philgoddard Aug 12, 2014:

I hadn't come across "can't fight city hall" before. Most of the hits relate to government, but this witty definition suggests it can apply to any no-win situation:
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Cant fight ci...
I'm reserving judgment till we get the context.

George Rabel Aug 12, 2014:

Agree with Phil Es importante saber el contexto en que se utiliza la frase.

philgoddard Aug 12, 2014:

Hello Could you give us the sentence in which this occurs, plus the ones before and after it, please? It sounds like it might be something like "Pigs might fly" or "When hell freezes over", but it's hard to translate without context.