Elections

We are in the last days of the campaign. Sunday the elections will be held. We have been promised two days, that is Sunday and Monday, of uninterrupted electricity. As a foreigner, that's one of the best parts of the elections!

What is campaigning like here? In a word: noisy. Each political party organizes huge meetings, and caravans that  parade down the street. The supporters are waving flags with the colors of the party they support. There are people on foot, SUV's lots of trucks, and large vehicles filled with people. They have many boom box vehicles, blaring out music and political talk to the neighborhood as they pass. When one party went down my street, it took about 20 minutes for them to get past.

Votes are commonly promised in exchange for some favor the politician does for the individual, or a gift given. Often it involves money. Perhaps he buys some medicine that is needed, or gives him some other type of financial help. Dominican Today said: "The Electoral Board’s Administrative Chamber (JCE) ordered the City councils and the Government to halt social programs such as the handout of food rations, home appliances, construction equipment and other aid from May 14 to 17, aimed at promoting fairness among the political parties."

So votes must not be bought during those dates. 

Many people go home to their city or town of origin to vote. Previously this was a requirement, but I have heard that you can actually have them transfer the paperwork to your new city, and vote there these days.

Traffic jams. That's another biggie during the campaign. Today, I took a taxi across the city. At one point we were stopped for 20 minutes. We were near the beginning of the traffic jam, so we got out much more quickly than others. People got out of their cars, and looked around, and chatted, trying to figure out the holdup. They realized quickly that it was a political rally that was nearby.

As the traffic finally began to move, we looked in astonishment at the opposing traffic. This main street that runs through the whole length of the city, was one long full parking lot, for miles!  A couple of years ago, during the elections, I got caught in traffic. It took a few hours to get home, when normally it would have been a half hour.

Dominicans get much more personally involved in their elections than do Americans. Sometimes I think it is just an excuse for a big party. But really, that would not be fair. The politician gives them something, or promises them something,  and they are expected to go to his meetings, supporting him in exchange.

Elections are also a time when things get done. It's when the garbage truck actually shows up, and the holes in the roads are repaired. (Don't worry, they will be repaired again next election.)

Most elections, there is some amount of violence, and this one is not exception. Still, over the years, the violent aspect of elections has diminished greatly. This year, shots were fired into one of the caravans, and one of the candidates ended up with a broken rib. No one actually got shot, but there were scratches, bumps, and bruises, as everyone rushed to get out of the line of fire.

Remember, what I'm writing here is to give you a foreigner's perspective of an election. We "expats" keep our distance from the actual issues, and campaign. All that is left for us is the noise, traffic, and hooray! electricity for two solid days! Elections are an important part of this Dominican Life.

Garbage, elections, and electricity thieves, oh my!

Today was not an unusual day here. Early morning I heard the neighbor shouting the names of everyone around. The garbage truck was coming, and she was alerting us. You see, it can easily sneak by, and you would have to wait till the next time. Whoever sees it first, has to alert all their neighbors. When the garbage truck comes---which can be at any time, any day, everyone scrambles to get all the garbage out to the truck. On this side of town, we don't put out big garbage cans. They would get stolen. (And yes, I've had one stolen.)  They do that where the rich folks live. Here, we wait till the truck comes. If you  put out plastic bags, wandering dogs will tear them open, as well as people who just want to check through to make sure you haven't thrown away anything usable (no one much does).

The big truck, will honk its horn, as it goes down the street, but still goes quickly, and you really have to run to get the garbage out before they are gone. The small truck that came today didn't even honk. It was just trying to sneak down the street and hope we didn't notice I guess. Usually I give the guy ten pesos when he takes the garbage. If you pay them, they will actually pick it up from the curb, otherwise you throw it in the truck yourself. I like to pay them, because I know these guys don't make much. It also can be an encouragement for them to come back.

The trucks can come daily, weekly, or even monthly. You never know when they will show up. But when elections are coming up, things tend to improve, temporarily. You get more electricity, road repairs, lots of water, and garbage pickup--till the elections are over, at least.

What else happened on my street today? Well, pre-election campaigning is in full swing. There was a 20 minute political parade that went down my street around six thirty tonight. It was complete with buses full of people, people marching down the street, large boom-box political campaign noise-aka-music-makers blaring loudly their political songs and slogans. People waved large white flags, because this was the white party. We still have the purple and red to come in future days, and I'm sure the white party will be back as well. Each political party has a color, just like the Republicans and Democrats have elephants and donkeys in the US. Most Americans would probably not enjoy the elections, but Dominicans make the campaign one big party. They are much more into politics, because if your friend wins, you win.

The last thing I noticed  happening on my street today, was a guy up on the electric pole, hooking up the electricity for someone who hadn't paid their bill--or someone who just didn't even sign up for a bill. This is not at all unusual. It is a very common sight. Do a lot of people get electrocuted here? Yes, as a matter of fact, they do. But not most who do this job. I've seen guys climb up an electric pole in a matter of a few seconds, as if they were climbing a coconut tree. No ladder, nothing. Of course, the more sophisticated have ladders. Does anyone report this? Why bother? The electric company is well aware that I'm in an apt. house with five apts. of which only two of us have accounts. Yet somehow, all five of us, including the cop who lives upstairs (without an account), have electricity in our apts. In fact, there are huge sectors of homes where people are even putting in air conditioning(!) and don't pay a nickel. The electric company is aware of it. So I pay my bills, and mind my own business.

Random garbage collection, election parades, and electricity thieves, are all just part of this Dominican Life.