Running on the ticket of a splinter conservative political party, Gadea's odds of winning are rather slim, especially in light of the FSLN's huge institutional advantage -- the country is decked out in the Sandinista's red and black flag (co-opted, interestingly enough, from the anarcho-syndicalists) -- and the fact a former president and fellow conservative is also running, splitting the opposition vote. Given this stark reality, how can a man nearly eight decades old appeal to voters in a country with one of the youngest populations in the Western Hemisphere?
With this, his official campaign song. It might sound familiar:
I've never been a fan of the Black Eyed Peas, but even I didn't believe they could cause so much harm -- not just to music, but to global politics.
Photo Credit: Tico Times
The FSLN have turned rather neoliberal in the past 20 or some years:http://pubs.socialistreviewindex.org.uk/isj74/gonzalez
ReplyDeleteYeah, they're garbage. The same neoliberal policies with a cooler flag.
ReplyDeleteStill, for old times:
ReplyDeleteComo un chilotito tierno fulgurante bajo el sol,
Nace el Frente Sandinista, mazorca y espiga de liberación ...
- Adrian
Are you bein sarcastic, Charlie?
ReplyDeleteNo. They're not very good, the party having largely devolved into a Daniel Ortega personality cult.
ReplyDeleteI was in Leon for a couple of weeks in 1994, just after college. It was a typical leftie-sponsored visit with work and meeting people during the day, staying with a family at night. The mom had fought against the contras. I got a FSLN pin and thought I was the badest mofo in the world. Bused through to Costa Rica and had the worst culture shock I've ever had. Good times. Hope to go back someday.
ReplyDeletePS your location is no longer undisclosed. Make sure you check the blogger category for your town, you just missed Ali.
ReplyDeleteGranted too, At least Ortega's maintained support for agriculture:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.tortillaconsal.com/hunger_nicaragua.html