The "other" election on Sunday (in Uruguay)

[rabs]

Polls released today give former Tupamaro guerrilla leader Mujica a huge lead over Lacalle and predict Mujica is headed for victory.

Mujica - 50 percent
Lacalle - 41 percent
Will leave ballot blank - 5 percent
Undecided - 4 percent


LaCalle ----------------- Mujica

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From El Pais newspaper of Montevideo tonight.

Último Momento
Encuestadoras dan ganador a Mujica

Las empresas Factum, Equipos Mori y Cifra dieron a conocer hoy la última encuesta de intención de voto rumbo al balotaje del próximo domingo.

El polítologo Óscar Botinelli dijo en Telenoche que la encuesta se cerró el domingo y se realizó en todo el país.

Según esta encuesta Mujica Astori tendría un 50 por ciento de los votos, Lacalle Larrañaga 41 por ciento, en tanto los indefinidos llegaron a un 9 por ciento.

Ignacio Zuásnabar anunció en Subrayado que, en una muestra de 900 personas, el 50 por ciento de los votos irían a la fórmula Mujica Astori, 41 por cierto para Lacalle Larrañaga, en tanto que 5 por ciento votarían en blanco y 4 por ciento se mantienen indecisos.

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Looks like the leftie Frente Amplio (Broad Front) has it wrapped up.

[Judi Lynn]

1. Glad you've brought it up. So glad to learn Mujica is still doing well.

It would be GREAT for South America, and Latin America, and great for people here who are hoping for Latin American progress beyond and far away from a hellish past.

http://mercopress.com.nyud.net:8090/images/uploads/6480900a33c1bf6a824c9a53b5e93582.jpg

He's got a good friend!

Looks like they went shopping together for suits.

[Vidar]

2. Thanks for the good news.

[Peace Patriot]

3. Thanks for the news! The left sure has a good score card on electing presidents in Latin America..

URUGUAY
PARAGUAY
BRAZIL
ARGENTINA
CHILE
VENEZUELA
BOLIVIA
ECUADOR

NICARAGUA
EL SALVADOR
GUATEMALA
and until recently, HONDURAS

(and that close vote in Mexico, the left losing by only 0.05% in 2006, amidst widespread accusations of elections fraud)

What's left? Pretty much just corrupt, fascist, bought-and-paid for U.S. allies!

Colombia (really terrible gov't and military, propped up by $6 BILLION in US military aid, and now SEVEN new US military bases; thousands of leftists murdered)
Peru (run by corrupt "free tradist" with a 25% approval rating, recently open-fired at indigenous protestors)
Haiti (US-installed president, after US coup; many leftists murdered)

Ambivalent category:

Panama (two new US military bases) (--sovereignty in question)
Costa Rica (good on some things, BAD on "free trade for the rich") (--sovereignty in question).

In a category all by itself:

Cuba.

--------------------------------

11 countries with leftist presidents--strongly allied with each other on sovereignty, independence and social justice
and Cuba makes 12 (allied with many of the above)

as opposed to the following 7:

3 US allies with truly wretched governments (Colombia, Peru, Haiti)
1 US ally currently suffering a coup d'etat to force it to remain a US ally (Honduras)
2 US allies with their sovereignty compromised by US military bases & "free trade," respectively (Panama, Costa Rica)
1 US ally that will likely go leftist (or at least pro-sovereignty, anti-"free trade") in the next election (Mexico)

Most of the independent countries are doing quite well, economically, given the Bushwhack Financial 9/11 of Sept. '08. And their political leaders don't kill, torture and oppress their opponents. Thriving democracies, in fact; lots of hope for the future. Most of their presidents have very high approval ratings. Only one is in real political trouble (president of Argentina).

Of the 7 where US influence is heaviest: In the first four, extreme poverty is endemic and goes unaddressed; democracy doesn't exist in Colombia, is tenuous in Haiti, may not be strong enough to oust the corrupt "free trade" government and elect a leftist in Peru, and has been deliberately destroyed with US help in Honduras. The last 3 (Panama, Costa Rica, Mexico) may survive being US allies.

[Braulio]

4. Looks like Brazil and Chile will shift right.

It has its ups and downs. The problems arise when communists become autocrats after being elected, and destroy the democratic system. They start by eliminating term limits, use a re-drawn constitution to concentrate power, and then they roll on. I wouldn't trust a radical leftist in an election right now, they're too prone to take nations the same route Cuba went. And that's a disaster.

[bluesmail]

5. The dominoes are falling! EOM

[struggle4progress]

6. Pepe Mujica: “Nuestra resistencia tiene que ser como las cañas, que se doblan pero aguantan”

11 Noviembre 2009 5 Comentarios
Por Ana Teresa Badía y Maribel Acosta

... A los catorce años estuvo en una celda en la desaparecida cárcel montevideana de Punta Carretas, contó a la televisora uruguaya Canal 10. “Me comí un montón de años de cana y dos horas después que salí de allí, estaba militando.”

Hoy Pepe Mujica considera que hay que utilizar mejor la capacidad ociosa de su país y administrar eficientemente los recursos. “El Uruguay es un país donde se ha despilfarrado mucho. Nosotros tenemos una conciencia bastante estatista en el peor sentido del término. Le pedimos todo y tratamos de sacarle todo, pero después no asumimos las responsabilidades que ello implica. No nos damos cuenta de que el estado somos nosotros en definitiva”.

Su propia vida habla de una conducta. Lo expresa orgulloso, no esconde las llagas ni las palabras: “Tener ética significa entender que cada peso público lo ha sudado la gente, y que los gobiernos y los estados no deciden la riqueza del espíritu santo, ni de los dioses, sino que son los pueblos y que por lo tanto ese valor es más sagrado que el valor privado que cada uno puede tener”.

Y añade: “Nuestra resistencia tiene que ser como la de las cañas que se doblan contra el suelo, pero aguantan. Hemos estado jodidos y divididos los latinoamericanos, en un mundo que se va estrechando, en el que nadie puede andar solo, y nadie debe darse el lujo de andar solo. Y aprovechar este viento de cambios que se están dando, cambios si se quieren relativos, cambios que se van por camino que no estaban previstos” ...

http://www.cubadebate.cu/especiales/2009/11/11/pepe-mujica-vida-nos-dio-muchos-regalos/
http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&sl=es&tl=en&u=http://www.cubadebate.cu/especiales/2009/11/11/pepe-mujica-vida-nos-dio-muchos-regalos/&prev=_t

[struggle4progress]

7. Desaparecidos

About three hundred Uruguayans were victims of forced disappearances during the dictatorship that ruled the country between 1973 and 1985. Uruguayans were also disappeared in Argentina, within Operation Condor. The majority of them were taken to the secret detention center Garage Olimpo. Several of them were flown into Uruguay, their fate is unknown. Human rights organizations and the families of victims continue looking for them and fighting to end impunity in Uruguay. The repression in Uruguay also reached about 15,000 political prisoners. http://www.desaparecidos.org/uru/eng.html