Election Day is Here

Yesterday was Election day in the Dominica Republic and that means the days and months surrounding the is day have equalled organized chaos. Two parties the PLD (Partido Liberation Dominicana) and the PRD (Partido Reformista Dominicana) have displayed their colors, purple and white respectively, with fanatical pride. I know it was a big deal when we elected our first black president, but political campaigning here is ten times the explosion of pride and noise. Everyday for the past two months we´ve enjoyed parades, strikes in the street, flag waving, giant billboards of slick looking candidates staring at you every 15 feet along the highway, and catchy-annoying public announcements booming from a dozen speakers loaded onto the back of a small pick up truck passing infront of every house.

I was most recently in the capital enjoying a relaxing moment of pitch and catch (we were actually playing ¨Pickle¨ with a few kids, Arecito, Christian, and Esteven) when a propeller plane flew low over our neighbourhood showering the streets with shinny sheets of paper on which was plastered those slick pictures of Dominican politicians. No one could escape their gripping stares. Yoryi and Mariano are a vivid in my mind as the very words on this computer screne. The rain of paper was like New Years in New York, but instead we were being showed in election propaganda. I learned that the local mayoral and congressional races are of supreme importance because the Dominicans often get to see their leaders in person... something most presidential races could never offer and small pueblo or rural campesino family.

So a little background on the ¨democratic¨ voting system here: Right now across the country it seems to be two parties dominating the political campaigns, each paying bribes of up to 1000 pesos ($30) to the poor and uneducated if they will promise to vote for their party. Live chickens, salami roles, baseball caps, sandals, bright colored T-shirts, baseball caps again, electrical wire, free water, tired smiles, you name it, are given out by campaign promoters to help each party ¨buy¨ a vote. ¨Promises are made that they will never be follow through with,¨ says my host mom, ¨because anyone in power is going to find a way to siphon the pueblos $ into their pockets.¨ It is as if politics is a game that is played here, where those who are the most corrupt win the gamet. I can´t vote because I don´t have a cedula (Dominican ID card), but even if I illegally bought one, which apparently happens quite often during election time, I still not sure which candidate is promising something they can actually are commited to accomplishing. One can surely not fix all the social inequalities of a developing nation in one election term, so the perfectly crafted speeches of a utopian tomorrow often seem hallow. That is not to say that I do not believe there is great potential and resources her in the DR. It´s a country in which you can do almost anything you want and always be celebrating along with others doing the same.

One thing is for sure is that this country needs to find a way to develop its education system. They put no resources forward to support their students and teachers and thus they receive one of the lowest ranked education systems in Latin American. If there is one thing that I firmly believe is a sustainable path out of poverty, it is education. A pueblo educated is a pueblo that knows how to prioritize its needs. Right now the DR´s filled with many happy people, but I think it could be even more organized and realize its hopeful political agendas if it fought the tough fight of great schooling.

Celebrate your right to be an educated voter,

Paz Paz,
Jared

Here´s a group talented artists and the gringo painting a world map at the local high school.