Electionmania

Tonight I helped my host family and his campaign team wrap over 500 matchboxes with a flashy green sticker that boasted my father's party, his party name, and their number. And what an experience it was. I was very impressed by this group of young people who were passionate about their political beliefs in a time when the average Ecuadorian citizen has long ago given up on their government. I found out that his party, the democratic christians, is ideologically somewhere in the middle between liberals and conservatives and that they have a strong tie to human rights. With over 30 established political parties to choose from, voters really have their work cut out for them in being an informed citizen. Propaganda such as these matchboxes, food, candy, and even money in more extreme cases, is distributed in mass quantity to people in "the campo" or the countryside where the people are more than happy to vote for anyone who will give them even a "spark" of help, so to speak. The fact that voting is obligatory in Ecuador is the source of many of its political problems. When I first heard about the mandatory voting, I thought it was brilliant and that the US should implement the same policy so that American Idol could no longer boast that it received more participation than the presidential elections. However, in practice, this is a horrible idea because it inevitably leads to the richest most established candidates buying the votes of the poor and uneducated and uninformed with gifts and promises that they don't intend to keep. In this manner, the corrupt candidate is "elected" under the guise of a legitimate democracy and chaos ensues as his term progresses.

October 15th is the big day. I'm not sure if my father will win, but it is an exciting time to be in Ecuador nonetheless. I was invited to participate in the campaigning efforts this weekend, which are sure to include lots of megaphones and salsa music. Thoughts on whether I should joing the campaign?