"Election Update" Midlifecrisis's photos around Mancora, Peru

A TripAdvisor™ TripWow slideshow of a travel blog to Mancora, Peru by TravelPod blogger Midlifecrisis titled "Election Update" Midlifecrisis's travel blog entry: "I have just read an update on the Peruvian election. Evidently, Alan Garcia, (the moderate leftist who had a disastrous presidency in the late 1980's) has pulled ahead of Ollanta Humala (the far left populist.) Voters seem to prefer the incompetent over the nut. I think this is good news. Ollanta's (both candidates are usually referred to by their given names) popularity decline has been fuelled by his close association with Hugo Chavez and his gang. Chavez seems to have an opinion on pretty much every subject and expresses these frequently and openly. (It is hard for me to be critical of this behavior without appearing somewhat hypocritical, but I recognize that I do not have a future in diplomacy.) This is starting to backfire on Chavez as he tries to enlarge his anti-US bloc. Chavez has been sharply critical of Peru and Colombia for signing free trade agreements with the US. He has created his own 'People's Free Trade' bloc of Venezuela, Bolivia and Cuba. I guess Peruvian businesses will miss out on selling their products to all those high-spending Cuban consumers. According to the NY Times, Chavez's pronouncements are also affecting the Nicaraugan and Mexican elections, where populist candidates are losing steam. (Each Sunday, Chavez does a 2+ hour unscripted, televised monologue. This is a man who enjoys ...

View Count: 0 Date: April 2, 2011