A couple of weeks ago on a Tuesday afternoon, we took the bus (usually 25 cents each but sometimes 50 cents each if we don’t have the right change) into Canoa for our usual happy hour at the Bambu, dinner somewhere and trivia night at the Surf Shak.
As we came down the Main Street toward the malecon along the beach, we saw that the street was blocked and a big stage and many chairs were being put in place. At the Bambu, Jorge the bartender mixed up some mojitos and then we had langostina in pesto sauce on a bed of potato wedges for dinner there. Except for lobster, these huge shrimp are the most expensive item on the menu at $15. However, two of us could barely finish one serving so it’s not a bad deal.
Walking back to the Main Street, we saw all the prizes for the rally in front of the stage. This is only a municipal election but, in order to win, the candidates pay anyone with a truck to bring people to the rally at $1 per person. To attract people, they also have draws with expensive prizes like major kitchen appliances, air conditioners, fans and outboard motors. We have heard rumours that candidates will spend $100,000 on their campaigns. This rally was for the incumbent mayor, Rossana, and her team. One has to wonder why anyone would spend so much money for local political power. It must be worth it.
By 7:30 pm the crowd was starting to gather and more chairs were being set out. We stopped for an ice cream and watched the action. It was all peaceful but it soon became apparent that there would be hundreds of people. We decided to skip trivia night because we thought we might not get a taxi home later. As we travelled south along the highway in our taxi, there was a steady stream of cars and trucks going north into Canoa to the rally. This was more people than we’d ever seen in Canoa before.
The election was the following Sunday so there were no alcohol sales anywhere on Friday, Saturday or Sunday, at least not openly. We heard later that the election is in dispute because some ballot boxes were burned and in some polling areas, more votes were cast than there were registered voters. Democracy is fragile.
As we came down the Main Street toward the malecon along the beach, we saw that the street was blocked and a big stage and many chairs were being put in place. At the Bambu, Jorge the bartender mixed up some mojitos and then we had langostina in pesto sauce on a bed of potato wedges for dinner there. Except for lobster, these huge shrimp are the most expensive item on the menu at $15. However, two of us could barely finish one serving so it’s not a bad deal.
Walking back to the Main Street, we saw all the prizes for the rally in front of the stage. This is only a municipal election but, in order to win, the candidates pay anyone with a truck to bring people to the rally at $1 per person. To attract people, they also have draws with expensive prizes like major kitchen appliances, air conditioners, fans and outboard motors. We have heard rumours that candidates will spend $100,000 on their campaigns. This rally was for the incumbent mayor, Rossana, and her team. One has to wonder why anyone would spend so much money for local political power. It must be worth it.
By 7:30 pm the crowd was starting to gather and more chairs were being set out. We stopped for an ice cream and watched the action. It was all peaceful but it soon became apparent that there would be hundreds of people. We decided to skip trivia night because we thought we might not get a taxi home later. As we travelled south along the highway in our taxi, there was a steady stream of cars and trucks going north into Canoa to the rally. This was more people than we’d ever seen in Canoa before.
The election was the following Sunday so there were no alcohol sales anywhere on Friday, Saturday or Sunday, at least not openly. We heard later that the election is in dispute because some ballot boxes were burned and in some polling areas, more votes were cast than there were registered voters. Democracy is fragile.
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