Current Events

Sorry for not posting anything lately…I’ve had midterms over the past week, and although not quite as demanding as my work at Georgetown, it’s been keeping me busy.

Our star-studded stay at the Swiss Hotel is quickly drawing to an end, but rumor has it that along with Iron Maiden we have been neighbors with Santana and Richard Gere. We went to go see Santana at the stadium down the street and he actually put on a great show, even if he wouldn’t hang out with us at the hotel bar. Just about everything is now in order with our house, and we should be moving in next weekend, although our stuff is still somewhere on the high-seas between here and Miami.

It’s election season in Ecuador, and the air is rife with controversy. My favorite commercial got pulled off the air for violating election laws—it was a 2-minute long homage to Ecuador, set to the tune of Hey Jude, with “na-na-na” changed to “cuidadania” (citizenship) and “patria” (patriotism). The electoral commission said it was illegal publicly funded propaganda for the ruling party, but is sure was catchy.

The biggest election scandal has been the coming to light of a variety of connections between the current administration and the FARC, the largest guerrilla movement in Colombia. A former undersecretary and minister in President Correa’s cabinet are both currently under investigation for a wide range of personal and business ties to some of the more infamous military and narco-trafficking personalities of the Colombian conflict. The story has created quite a stir in Ecuador, although it’s probably not going to be damaging enough to hurt Correa’s reelection chances in April.

As long as we’re talking about the destabilizing effects of international involvement in Colombia, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention one of the more astounding articles I’ve read lately, documenting the financing of paramilitary death squads by Chiquita Banana. This is just one more chapter in the ongoing saga of the banana industry being directly responsible for torture and murder in Latin America (Chiquita is the rebranded United Fruit Company, who helped the CIA spark the 35 year Guatemalan civil war). The article doesn’t mention it, but Attorney General Eric Holder (of whom I’m actually a big fan) was previously a defense lawyer for Chiquita in a case regarding these payments.

On a lighter note, Monique and I got to see some world class soccer yesterday at the Ecuador - Brazil World Cup qualifying match. We packed in with about 40,000 screaming fans (in Spanish the same word is used for fan and fanatic, and this match made abundantly clear why there is no distinction). The tickets were all general admission, and although we got there 2 hours early we still weren’t able to find a seat and had to stand for the entire game. But we did manage to corral a spot about 50 yards from the field, close enough to see Ronaldinho’s goofy smile whenever he came near the corner.

Despite being considered a less-skilled team, Ecuador outplayed Brazil for most of the game (probably because of the altitude), although Ecuador gave up a stupid goal with about 10 minutes left in the second half. We thought all was lost until Ecuador tied the game with about 2 minutes left, leading to the entire crowd to get soaked in beer, soft drinks, and home made confetti. I’ve never seen a crowd so excited about a tie, although considering that the Brazilians are some of the best players in the world I suppose it was quite an accomplishment for a small country like Ecuador.

Having learned Spanish in a little community in Guatemala where everyone is extremely formal in their mannerisms, I’ve always felt my vocabulary of vulgarities has been lacking. Fortunately, 90 minutes of Ecuadorian soccer filled in what 2 years in the Guatemalan campo could not. Seeing 14 year-old kids screaming chants that would make a sailor blush was a bit disarming, but I suppose it’s all part of the fun.

Well that’s all for now. Keep in touch and look for cheap tickets to come visit!

-Dan and Monique.