...But the Campaigning Continues

Perhaps it is a sign of what the major Presidential candidates think will really happen in terms of rescheduling elections. Or perhaps it is just what politicians do when they don’t know what else to do. But the campaigning continues fast and furious here in Cochabamba.

On my mid-day bike ride around the city I rode past dozens of perky Tuto Quiroga campaigners, adorned in bright red shirts and smiles to match. Morales backers were out working the same intersections, waving the MAS’ blue flags. It remains a mystery, however, what these campaigners actually do at the city’s major public spots, other than wave their parties’ colors. Perhaps there are voters who just side with the candidate with the nicest color scheme

Samuel Doria Medina made himself visible today with a full page ad in some of the Bolivian papers, a long block of text which essentially says, “Look folks, none of the top three candidates are going to get anywhere near the 51% of the vote required to win the presidency outright, so let’s start talking coalition now.” Whether it is sincere or not, it makes great strategy. Medina the peacemaker against those battling extremists of the right and left (Quiroga and Morales, respectively). It also so happens that the person who really will elect the next President is Medina (the likely third place finisher), depending on which of the other two he decides to ally himself with.

Then there is Cochabamba’s own Manfred Reyes Villa (aka Bon Bom) who finished third place for President in 2002 and opted this year to run for the now-elected position as governor of the state of Cochabamba. I give his campaign the award for being the VERY MOST ANNOYING. Not a day goes by when the air isn’t pierced with the wailing of his sound trucks touting some campaign message. At this point I don’t care what he promises. Anyone who thinks we need to have our ears damaged probably needs to lose just for that.

So it goes in the wild world of campaigning for an election that may or may not happen and if it does we know not when.