Here We Go Again

Sitting in an Antiguan café, sipping on a melon liquado, watching tourists and locals saunter past, the tip of a volcano off in the distance. National elections are coming up in September and the whole country is full of political color. The contrast to Canada's recent elections are stark, if not downright humorous.

In Canada we put little signs on our front lawns to let the whole neighbourhood know who we are voting for.

In Guatemala people paint their whole house political colors, complete with party logos and slogans.

In Canada political volunteers politely knock at your door: "May we have a moment to tell you about Joyce Murray and the Liberal Party of Canada?" This restrained campaigning is often considered a nuisance.

In Guatemala they drive around towns in pick-up trucks with loudspeakers, alternating between ambulance sirens and political slogans. On weekends they gather large groups of supporters (children in tow) to form parades that march through villages, banging drums, chanting slogans, and letting off firecrackers that reverberate off the hills like gunshots, as if the civil war was starting up again. I guess whatever party throws the biggest party wins.

The madness hardly stops at the local level. The forerunner, The Patriot Party's Otto Perez Molina, is a tough-on-crime former army general who is constantly coming under accusations by indigenous groups for crimes against humanity. His main competition is current first lady Sandra Torres, who divorced her husband to avoid electoral laws that prohibit the spouses of presidents from running for office. She has declared herself the first woman to divorce for the sake of "being married to Guatemala." Her candidacy has been negated by a Supreme Court ruling, but her party campaigns on regardless.

The chaos is to some extent understandable, because the stakes are so high. Security is the main issue, with Mexican drug cartels pushing their trade further into Guatemala, and with a capital city filled with violence. Thirty different political candidates have already been murdered. So when you can spare some time send up a prayer for Guate.

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The last few weeks have been hectic, but satisfying. My host family is beyond a blessing. Helena, my host madre, is a chef of the highest order, whisking up plates of typical Mayan food and patiently dealing with my hectic and oft-changing schedule. Our two main projects here are building a house for a local family, and running an ESL after-school program. The house construction is a blast, with the whole family involved, including their grampa, Don Jaunito. He's short (even for a Guatemalan which is saying a lot) and he's getting on in age, but his work ethic and strength puts any of us to shame. ESL is wild, chaotic, and fun as anything with kids always is. As a team we are growing, facing challenges of a new culture, and new lifestyle, and new schedule, and fresh experiences. Next weekend marks the halfway point in Guate, which is crazy! I miss and love you all and will have to right more soon, but I've over-extended my stay, so I'll leave you with this picture of my familia's laundry: