November 2008 Archives

We’re hosting this year, and our cozy apartment is about to be filled w/ family. I’m also contributing roasted raspberry lamb to the traditional mix of foods.

My friend MABB beat me to it, but there’s polling data out on Bolivia’s upcoming constitutional referendum (see his post). Overall, it looks like Bolivian voters will approve the new constitution (the one modified on October 21, 2008, in a compromise between MAS & opposition legislators, not the draft approved in December 2007). But regional differences matter: polls in the cities of El Alto, Oruro, and Potosí show support for the constitution exceeding 50%; polls in the cities of Santa Cruz, Tarija, and Sucre show opposition to the constitution exceeding 50%; results in the cities of Cochabamba, La Paz, and Trinidad (capital of Beni) are more mixed (see the report in La Prensa). And there are a lot of undecided voters out there. It’s going to be a voter turnout game.

Can someone explain to me why we should bail out banks (which don’t make anything!), but we can’t bail out automakers (which do)?

I wasn’t able to attend Evo’s speech at American University last Tuesday, but I’m glad to see it available online at AU’s speeches on campus webpage. It’s worth a look.

In the past several weeks, Evo’s government has become more aggressive towards Washington: In short order, the US ambassador, USAID, and the DEA were expelled from the country. The Peace Corps left on its own, but it too was a target of anti-US rhetoric. In response, the White House decertified Bolivia’s anti-narcotics efforts & threatened to end Bolivia’s favorable trade relationship (which threatens thousands of Bolivian jobs). Clearly, US-Bolivian relations are at a low point.

Video of Javi walking by himself, mostly. He should be walking freely any day now. But we’ve been hoping that for a while.

Earlier this morning I wrapped up a brief interview w/ VOA that is scheduled to appear today at 5pm EST on its television broadcast show “El Mundo al Día.” They called me in to comment on Evo’s visit to the US, the new draft constitution, and US-Bolivia relations in general. The feed will only be on their website until 5pm EST tomorrow.

Basically, these were my comments: The new draft constitution (that includes regional autonomy) is a good compromise; any new constitution must be viewed as legitimate by all major parties; Evo is not Chávez; and an Obama administration does have potential for positive developments, but Bolivia rates low in priorities.

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Addendum: It looks like they didn’t use my comments, which is probably for the best (and as a former journalist & assistant copy editor, I know how these things work). But after spending 2+ hours in a car & a $100 parking ticket, it’s kind of a bummer.

It’s been ten days since I’ve posted any updates. Clearly, I’ve been quite busy w/ teaching & other university responsibilities (there’s a lot going on), an increasingly precocious 10-month-old son (that’s a good thing), holiday planning, getting sucked into American politics & the “global economic crisis,” and trying to focus on “work-related” writing projects.

After much anticipation, here are some pictures of Javi from the last two months. Sorry, we’ve just been so incredibly busy.

I don’t announce my politics too much. Students often read my blog & I take the idea of academic neutrality very seriously—or try to, at least. But I really can’t let the 2008 US presidential election go by w/o comment: I voted for Barack Obama. Here are my reasons, in no particular order:

On Monday evening, I participated in a panel discussion at Mount St. Mary’s University on the question: “Does the democratic form of government need to be anchored in religious values?” The participants included three other discussants: Monsegnor Stuart Swetland (VP for Catholic Identity), Kristen Urban (Political Science), and David Cloutier (Theology). It was a great experience, particularly since there was little disagreement between the panelists. Here are my comments:

Tomorrow is election day. So far, it looks like an Obama victory, and I’m going so far as to suggest a Reagenesque landslide. There’s a pool at work, and I’ve put in a prediction of 389 electoral college votes (including one Nebraska electoral college member & all of Arizona for Obama). Stay tuned.