Saturday, January 23, 2010

"el menos malo es el más bueno"

Similar to many other democracies, the world of Costa Rican political commercials is usually pretty grim, with candidates portrayed as either scions of the community, conveyed by action photos of each interacting with others: helping their constituents; or as eloquent and dutiful public servants, shown speaking candidly to the audience directly "though" the camera.

Costa Rica is a direct democracy; you vote in your own president and congress directly, no electoral college, which fact is important when the above commercials are made, since the only requirement is to win a majority of the popular vote. Costa Rican presidents don't have primaries and they aren't required to win in otherwise innocuous battlegrounds like Ohio and Iowa.

So needless to say, I was much surprised with Christian Democrat Luis Fishman's series of commercials, "el menos malo es el mejor" (the least worst is the best). The most hyperbolic and outlandish of these being this one here.

I'm not sure about the baby and the chorus of pregnant women, but if you're interested, there's another video of his explanation of the video's symbolism: something garbled about babies representing new starts and days after elections...blek.

Here's the song's translation:

I'll vote for Luis
my baby will be born soon
The least worst is the best
that's why i'm voting for him
He's the best.
A realist, w/o illusions, I believe him
that's why in February
I'll give my sincere vote to Luis
I'll support the least worst
with flags and a banquet
I'll celebrate it honking*.
I'll follow him.
I'll vote for him.
He's the besssssssssssst!

“The least worst is the best. Fishman.”

[*In Costa Rica, soccer and election victories are celebrated with incessant car honking.]

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