Last night after a late dinner out, Pete and I happened upon a campaign rally! Bolivia´s presidential election is scheduled for December, and the current President (Evo Morales) is predicted to win for his second term. His political rival in this election (Manfred) has been in Sucre since this weekend to try and gain support.
A couple of the main streets in Sucre were shut down to accommodate the large stage adorned with hundreds of red and yellow balloons. After a traditional Bolivian band entertained the crowd, the ¨proximo Presidente of Boliviaaaaaa...!¨ took the stage. Manfred and his entourage wore Formula One style jackets (symbolic of their extreme right-wing platform??) with the word ¨convergencia¨ emblazoned on the front and back. The usual display of fireworks lit the stage, and we had to endure the cheesy campaign song over and over and over.
Noticeably absent was his Vice Presidential running mate Leopoldo, who is doing his share of campaigning from jail! He is currently awaiting trail for charges related to a mass slaughter of opposition in his home departmento (province) of Pando. And we thought Sarah Palin was a bad choice!
The best part of the whole display was the fact that the rally was ill timed, it seems. How dare Manfred schedule a rally when an important soccer game was on TV? Not to worry, loyal fans. A projector stationed near the stage and pointed at a large building next to it ensured that supporters could watch both shows. Now THAT´S a good campaign strategy.
I think I´d be tempted to vote for this dude based on his super stylin´ molestache alone!
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