Las elecciones

"¿Van a votar dos?" "Are you going to vote two?" This was the question of the day yesterday from our neighbor kids. The Nicaraguan elections are on Sunday, and last night (Wednesday) was the last day of campaigning before the three days of "silence" that always precede elections here. We explained to the kids that we can't vote in Nicaragua because we aren't citizens. (And we don't give opinions because we try to stay out of local politics as much as possible in countries where we are not citizens). It is perplexing to them to talk to an adult who is not voting because voter turn-out in Nicaragua is among the highest in democracies in the world.

These elections, which will take place all over Nicaragua, are municipal. However, they feel like national elections because they reflect strongly on the balance of power of the political parties in the country generally. "Vote 2" is a common phrase here in Managua and it refers to voting for the FSLN (Sandinista party--those currently in power) mayoral candidate. The other candidate in Managua is from the Liberal party.

We see and hear much more about "voting 2" because of the very heavy campaign efforts by the current government. For the last number of months, they have been paying people to stand at all major intersections in the city all day, waving party flags and wearing shirts that say "Love is stronger than hate." The large posters read "prayer against hate." The party's traditional revolutionary colors of red and black intermingle with their new peaceful colors of pink and yellow. The photo above is from today's newspaper (La Prensa), which is criticizing the continued use of government vehicles, property, and money to campaign. This political cartoon (we love following political cartoons here--Nicaraguans are brilliant with word play and satire) from today depicts two men in "Love is stronger than hate" t-shirts silencing the opposition. There has been some violence on the part of both sides leading up to these elections, but the irony is more clear when the perpetrators are wearing pink and yellow shirts with this message.