And Now the Vote

The campaigns are over, wrapping up with a swing of huge rallies by the leading candidates. My wife Lynn went to the large one last night for Morales and MAS in Cochabamba’s football stadium, in the rain. She says the candidate announced it was a benediction from Pachamama.

Bolivia now gets ready to vote, under an international spotlight unlike any election in its past. Yellow ribbon now also blocks access to alcohol in the major markets. It is illegal to sell alcohol in the run up to Sunday’s election (though I can promise that copious amounts of it will be drunk across the nation as the country shuts down for the vote).

I am also, quite happily, back from Africa, following a heinous four-continents-in-three-days journey that left both my suitcase and my clock wandering somewhere between here and there.

The Democracy Center is revving up to provide our Blog readers with lots of coverage from lots of angles in the next week, as the vote takes place, the results are counted, and the real wheeling and dealing begins. Stay tuned. We’ll do our best to keep you informed.