Look around at this world we've made
Equality our stock in trade
Come and join the Brotherhood of Man
Oh, what a nice, contented world
Let the banners be unfurled
Hold the Red Star proudly high in hand
All of Ecuador held its municipal elections yesterday. For two months, the country went overboard with campaign speeches, publicity, candidates skreeching their creed through loudspeakers, and of course the ubiquitious dances. Here in my county alone, 11 political parties vied for the office of mayor and other local positions. The parties included the Socialists, the Communists, the Greens, the Leftists, the Center-Leftists, the Right-Leftists, the Ambidextrous-Rightists, the Centrally-Located Centrists, the Lopsided Ambidextrists, the Christian Democrats, the Catholic Rightocrats, the PeoplesīParty, the Party for the People, the Letīs Just Get Naked and Drunk Party, the Socially Communist Capitalists, and more!
Of course, each political party held a dance in my village, so thereīs been a dance just about every other night during the last four weeks, meaning I got absolutely no sleep at all, not because I was dancing, but because the noise of the music kept reverberating through the walls of my house and into my head (Ecuadorian DJs like their music LOUD).
At the political dances, the candidates made their speeches -- "our party is different, we are not corrupt, we are honest, weīre not like the rest" -- and they always had some scantilly clad woman get onto the stage, shake her g-stringed butt around and sing popular cumbia songs.
Everytime I asked an Ecuadorian who they were going to vote for, they were like "I donīt know, I have no idea, I havenīt really thought too much about it." I think they decided based on the best dance or the hottest, scantilly-clad singer.
Throughout the month preceeding the elections, many Ecuadorians asked me if I was going to vote. They think anybody from any country can come to Ecuador and participate in the elections. I had to politely remind them that Iīm not Ecuadorian, and that I cannot vote in their elections -- they seemed shocked at this news, and then asked me when I plan to travel to the U.S. to participate in the presidential elections. To their amazement and awe, I explained to them that I sent my ballot in by mail.
The campaigning culminated in a massive County-wide dance held in the county capitalīs main square where each political party had their own DJ, their own stage, and their own scantilly-clad women. I actually went to this dance to witness the chaos. Busloads of people from all over the county and province came to the event. The buses were so packed that passengers had to ride on the roofs. There were thousands of revelers. You can imagine the cacaphony of 11 different poltical parties shouting across the main square at the same time, and then blasting their political music loud enough to split a dead manīs testicles.
The most important result of the elections in my county were that the Socialist Partyīs candidate won the office for mayor. Heīs a very diminutive man named Benito that many people love. Heīll be replacing the current mayor whom many people despise.
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