Uruguay voted on November 29 to elect Jose Mujica, a former guerrilla leader who was shot at, tortured and imprisoned for 14 years, including two spent at the bottom of a well, while opposing a vicious string of military backed dictatorships in the 70's and 80's. A once strident leftist, he now professes a strong bent towards pragmatism, provided by his 74 years. I'm struck by his age and regret that a generation of progressive leaders throughout Latin America were silenced, killed or generally barred from participating in the "official" power structure of their country for so long by repressive and weak men.
Bolivians reelected Evo Morales by a wide margin on December 6. Morales did surprisingly well in the hotter, lower and more affluent regions of Santa Cruz which have been hostile to his efforts to redraw the constitution and nationalize the petroleum and resource extraction industries in the area. His base of support though still rests in the western, more indigenous departments of La Paz, Oruo, and Cochabamba. We will soon see if and how Morales intends to use this victory to remove term limits and continue to run for president as Chavez, Correa, and Uribe have been doing.
Chile votes on Sunday the 13th. The field of candidates is still crowded and many vote-seekers are presumably siphoning votes away from others. It awaits to be seen if Marco Enriquez Ominami, who is running an insurgent campaign that hits many of the themes Obama campaigned on, can steal a spot in the run-off from former president, Eduardo Frei, though time is running out. It appears certain that the conservative candidate, Sebastian Pinera, will finish first in the this round.
The nation's battle with its violent legacy emerged into the last minute campaigning this weekend as a judge charged three individuals with the murder of former president, Eduardo Frei Montalva, who is also the father of the candidate Frei. More on Chile in the days to come.
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