Elections 2008!!!

Newscorner of Pike's Place Market, Seattle



Halloween in Wallingford, Seattle:)


A friend of mine in Seattle sent me these photos and I couldn't agree more! I am so happy that we FINALLY have a new and historic president, as well as one that can renew our reputation abroad as he continues to inspire hope and positive change in our country. I also just learned that Jimmy Smits' caracter in The West Wing was actually modeled after Barack Obama and Obama's choice for a Chief of Staff, Rahm Emanuel was the inspiration for Josh Lyman's character in The West Wing as well! We could have a real life repeat of one of the best shows ever on television!!!:)

People in Londrina were as excited as I was for the election. The different doormen who work at my apt. building would always ask me, "So, McCain or Obama?" If I took a taxi or got my nails done or went to the bank, anywhere that people could tell I was American, they wanted to know who I thought would win. The day after the election, I received Congratulations calls, e-mails and phone text messages. I know what America does affects the rest of the world, but still, it was so fun to see the knowledge and outpoor of support and interest in politics when it wasn't even their own country!

Just a couple of weeks before our election, Londrina had elections as well for a new Mayor. Two things that are different in Brazil from in the U.S. are that here, elections are always held on a Sunday so that everyone has time to vote (excellent idea - and why don't we do this???!!!), and it is mandatory for every citizen of Brazil to vote. This, I don't like so much. But here, it is taken very seriously. If you are ill or out of town, you have to justify your absence. You can't vote by mail or in another city. If you don't vote, there is a fine and your important documents such as license and social security number have the possibility of being revoked - they're not joking around. So they have a kind of "forced" democracy, but people believe that otherwise hardly anyone in Brazil would vote.

What's nice, though, is that people take Election Day very seriously, which I think is wonderful. The night before and the day of elections the streets are almost completely silent - it is a huge contrast from the typical Saturday night here. The Saturday night before Election Day, it is illegal to sell alcohol in the restaurants and bars after midnight. However, in typical Brazilian fashion, you can serve the drinks, they just have to have been paid for before midnight:)

Anyway in this election, there was a primary, and the two winners were Belinatti and Hauly. Belinatti has already been Mayor 3 times before, but he has countless legal charges against him and has embezzled and stolen some R$40 million! The problem is that the poor people love him because he bribes them, or builds them new houses and hospitals among other things. These are good initiatives, but he is completely corrupt. The attitude I kept hearing over and over for people who support him was that he may steal but at least he does something. Many people here feel that the candidates don't accomplish anything, so it's better to have someone corrupt who at least gives something back to the community than someone who does nothing. This is a terribly sad attitude, but one that seems difficult to change.

Half of the city supported Belinatti and the other half Hauly. Belinatti won by a couple of percentage points and there were parades up and down the main street by my house - people honking, fireworks, etc. I can't remember ever seeing such a display for an election in the U.S. Maybe after a World Series win, but even then we have organized parades the following day, not so much honking all over the city during the night:) But it was fun to witness!

Then two days later, it was announced that Belinatti would be tried in the courts and could no longer run or serve as Mayor! There was another parade all night long with the other half of the city:) They haven't decided yet what will happen, if there will be another election with all the candidates or just the two with the most votes after Beinatti. They're not sure. But it is absurd, because why was he allowed to run in the first place with all these lawsuits and charges being processed against him? He shouldn't have even been allowed to be a candidate. Londrina has gotten national press over their candidates in this election, and it has been somewhat of an embarrassement to the city, depending on your political view, of course.

But then I saw that something similar had happened in the U.S. with the people of Alaska re-electing Ted Stevens after he had been convicted of 7 FELONIES!!! What is that? Sarah Palin said something to the effect that the people of Alaska had spoken and she wasn't going to stop the process of democracy. Wow, well in this case I would agree with Winston Churchill when he said that: The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter.


From Wikipedia
On July 29, 2008, Stevens was indicted by a federal grand jury on seven counts of failing to report gifts received from VECO Corporation and its CEO Bill Allen on his Senate financial disclosure forms, formally charged with violation of provisions of the Ethics in Government Act. Stevens pleaded not guilty and asserted his right to a speedy trial, which began on September 25 in Washington, DC, to have the opportunity to clear his name before the November election. However, it was on October 27, 2008, barely a week before the election, when Stevens was found guilty on all seven counts.If reelected, Stevens will be the first felon elected to the United States Senate.

It certainly makes you think twice when trusting the public to democratically make wise decisions. Still, we are so lucky to have the right to vote and to have a say in who we want to be our leaders. Whether obligatory, such as in Brazil, or optional, like in the U.S., it is still our responsibility to be active in the election process and make educated decisions in choosing the best person to represent us.


Congratulations America on choosing Barack Obama for 2008!!!!