Let’s file that away for a moment and get on with the general thrust of today’s narrative, which goes quite well with Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want. (At the bottom… always)
Because… Well… I wasn’t going to allow that to kill the buzz I was on. At least, not yet.
But this all changed slightly on my trip to Llojeta, as I glanced out the window and paid attention (perhaps for the first time) to all the political graffiti adorning the beautiful walls of this delightful stretch of land. There is nothing particularly interesting, innovative, provocative or creative about any of this stuff. But I will share some of it with you just the same.
The text translates roughly as: “The Time Is Now. Yes – EVO“ and it implies that he is a beacon of change for Bolivia the likes of which has never been seen.
Now, far be it from me to shit on someone for expressing their ideals through the use of mediocre art. That’s all well and good. And, even though the thing is a fucking eyesore, I am not discounting its social validity. The problem, basically, is that it’s a crock of shit.
Which is why I find the following picture to be a more telling illustration of what’s actually going on here…
Now then… The full text reads: EVO si CUMPLE, which translates literally as: Evo does comply. But I don’t want to transliterate because it’s a stupid thing to do. Essentially it’s saying: Evo Keeps His Promise. Evo Lives Up To It.
It’s implying that Evo Morales Aima is doing right by his country. Now… The “CUMPLE” part is obscured by what I can now tell you are trash bins.
How appropriate to have a place to dispose of your garbage at a height that can, for some people, be at neck or eye level… So convenient to be walking by one of these things and catch a whiff of someone’s baby laundry. But, having the trash can cover up that part of the message has the very appropriate effect of: “Yes! Evo does comp–(cough)BULLSHIT!(cough)” and that is what I’m getting at here.
Comply with what? Live up to what? Food prices are soaring, the economy is in the toilet, his “constitution” reform includes clauses that give the indigenous population more rights than the non-indigenous population, making it a social/racial exclusive constitution that has no place in a democratic nation…
It’s no secret to anyone that keeps up with my blabberings that I am not one of Evo Morales’ biggest fans. But the fact is, I really don’t care all that much anymore… This country has a long and storied history of political corruption and is on the Guinness book as having the greatest number of coups. I want change as much as the next guy – but it really is a case of Meet The New Boss Worse Than The Old Boss. Which brings me to…
Why my colleague’s comment was kind of stupid.
Devin Faraci already said the right things w.r.t. Barack Hussein Obama and what his presidency represents. So I won’t go there. There’s no need and I agree with every word.
But it’s this perception that people have down here that they’re equating Obama with Evo. Like… It’s the same thing.
Not quite.
Barack Obama didn’t mount a campaign of violent riots and protests that led to the president ultimately saying “Fuck You People I’ve Had Enough” and leaving office — Twice.
Barack Obama didn’t have 50% of the people who voted do so because they were told to and 50% because they wanted to see him get up there and fall on his ass… In the process, fucking up their own country for the sake of what amounts to sour grapes that never came.
Barack Obama didn’t have a constitution written up for approval that says (through cleverly masked legal jargon): “Only African-Americans can work in government. Only African-Americans can own as much property as they want. If there is a portion of your house that is not being used by you on a constant basis and it does not fulfill a social function, the state demands that a homeless African-American occupy that space…” And so on…
Barack Obama didn’t sit on his hands and shrug his shoulders when a group of his most militant supporters went in front of the parliament building and slit the throats of puppies on live television to show they meant business. And threaten to bomb the embassy of a country if its ambassador didn’t apologize for making a cute joke at Obama’s expense.
Barack Obama didn’t hold a random election to see if the people still supported him and then provided busloads of citizens with pre-filled ballots and up to three ID cards so they could vote more than once – resulting in a Popular Vote of over 60% when he originally won the presidency with 51% and his popularity has actually gone down in two years.
Barack Obama didn’t deport the ambassador of a country that, flaws aside, has provided a colossal amount of financial and social aid through various NGOs and government grants for the past 50 years.
You know what Barack Obama did?
He finished school. Then he went to college and got a good education. Then he embarked on a serious political career that in record time has him occupying the highest seat… And he seems like an intelligent man capable of leading a nation out of some pretty fucking dark times. Rather than deeper into a tunnel of shit.
Okay… You need this soapbox? Cause I’m done.