election day

Today is election day in Peru. Public gatherings, including church services, are not allowed. Stores are prohibited from selling any kind of alcohol from Friday evening through Monday. Peruvians must vote in the town where they are registered, and they will be fined if they don't vote.

Thanks to Kelly Phenicie on livinginperu.com for the following summary of today's election:

With the first round of elections having taken place on April 10, the toss-up is now between Ollanta Humala, once die-hard Chávez supporter, and Keiko Fujimori, the daughter of a former president who is currently jailed for human rights violations and massive corruption. In short: yikes.

Faced with the extreme right and left, more moderate voters are scratching their heads as they grapple with the hairy reality of having to elect one of these crazies as president – a situation our newly Nobel-endowed writer, Mario Vargas Llosa, has oh-so-eloquently likened to choosing “between terminal cancer and AIDS.”

All the election hype here has made me think about our own politics in the United States--something I've never been especially interested in or passionate about. Surprisingly, it has made me feel grateful. We have our fair share of corrupt politicians, to be sure, and like Peruvians we know the feeling of being forced to choose between two crappy candidates. But if Peru's choices are between cancer and AIDS, our choices are between chicken pox and the flu.

G.W. may have made some seriously irresponsible decisions during the "war on terror." But he didn't (as Keiko Fujimori's father has been accused of) condone massive forced sterilizations and organize death squads. Obama may have socialist tendencies, but his government is not taking over industries and media or redistributing property (as Hugo Chávez has done in Venezuela and some fear Humala will do if he's elected today).

I'm not excusing our politicians. And I believe it's possible that the United States could get to the point of either extreme mentioned above. But for now anyway, I'm feeling grateful that in the U.S. we don't have to worry about rioting on election day, government organized death squads or squatters being given the right to take over our homes.

I am living in Peru as a temporary guest and am feeling some anxiety over today's election. I imagine my concern would be seriously amped up if we were planning to live here long-term. And if I were a Peruvian, I'd be genuinely afraid.

So as you think of us this week, keep an eye on the news and pray for Peru.