That is actually a very good word for this. You watch the state-run TV channels, especially Channel 5, and it is Fantasy Land; even when they show poverty, the find ways to almost glamorize it.
Sad thing is poor people here sort of like that. It is quite a show when local authorities go to the market. They gather this huge crowd. They promise a cleaner, safer market, they shake hands, the force some businesses to sell cheaper corn flour or sugar for a day, and then they leave and nothing happens. But people celebrate their visit and their hand-shake as an eventful moment; and they can't wait for another visit when they can buy cheap sugar again.
I've always thought that there is no show without expectators; no travesty without an audience willing to watch, clap, and even laugh.
The whole political world has been somehow enjoying (profiting from?) this "show".