Election Day!

Last Sunday was Argentina's election day. Cristina Kirchner, wife of the incumbent president Nestor Kirchner, ran and won the election as a part of the party Frente Para la Victoria (Front for Victory), one of the many branches of the modern day Peronist Party. I could give you a whole history of the Peronist party (I'm taking a class on Peronism), but I'll spare everyone the lecture. Basically, they are still considered Peronists, because that is the dominant political party, but today's Peronists' politics are worlds apart from Peron's politics. For some information about Cristina, click here.

Election Day was interesting for several reasons. First of all, the wife of the incumbent president was running. While she won in the province of Buenos Aires, she lost in the city of Buenos Aires, which is called Capital Federal (where I live and all the national government stuff is). Fun fact: the capital of the province of Buenos Aires is not Capital Federal, it is a city called La Plata. Amongst the people I've met (all in BA), she seems to be unpopular, and many people have told me they see her election as a way to keep the couple in power for a long time - Nestor just finished his four years, she will be in office for four years, then she passes the power back to him for four years, and she takes it after him. I'm not sure if I agree with this reading, but thought it was interesting and worth sharing.

In addition, EVERYTHING is closed on Election Day. It is on a Sunday, and all of the bars close at midnight on Saturday night and you cannot serve alcohol. For a city that usually doesn't go out until 2 AM, this was very surprising! Sunday was not much different than a normal Sunday in BA - everything was closed, but everything is always closed on Sunday.

Finally, voting in Argentina is not option, it is obligatory. According to the Argentine Constitution, every person has to vote in elections, unless they have a special circumstances. Election day is on a Sunday, so people don't work and it's easier to get out and vote. Needless to say, they have a very high percentage of people who vote, unlike the US. I was very curious about it, and actually asked in one of my classes what it means that it's obligatory - if you don't vote, can you be punished? The answer is technically, there is a fine. However, it is a strictly enforced policy.

Besides elections, life has continued as normal in BA. Nothing too exciting to report on. I'm getting excited for the family (Mom, Yaya, and Papa) to come down and visit. Over Thanksgiving our program takes us to Colonia, in Uruguay for the day (its a short boatride away), so that should be fun! I'm starting to plan my adventures for the end of the semester, and I'm weighing all my different options for interesting things to do.

Lots and lots of love to the US (and South Africa, and Spain, etc.),
Becca