Interesting times in Colombia

It's election weekend in Colombia. Back home there'd be people hosting election parties (any excuse in Australia), and pubs and bars sporting big screen TVs, crowded with patrons watching the ebb and flow of the results with anticipation. Here, there's an alcohol ban. It's been in place since 6pm Friday and wont be lifted until 6am Monday. Civilians are also banned from carrying weapons until June 2, but seeing as I'm not the knife or gun wielding type, that one shouldn't affect me. As one might imagine, an alcohol ban on a Saturday night is a bit of a drag in the backpacker world, but you'll be pleased to know that in light of this, we're surviving. We're currently in a hostel in Cartagena watching 'Gladiator' with some other disheartened souls, ditching the planned green chicken mango curry cooking session for watermelon and marshmallows, it's way to humid for curry. I have to admit, it's quite nice having a weekend in after our latest mission, a five day trek to and from the Lost City, and it's yet another opportunity to redress my worsening blog neglect.

If the last few weeks have been anything to go by, this weekend is going to be interesting. It's hard to avoid the election excitement here and in my very nonexpert, I've-only-been-here-for-one-month opinion, it's set to be a cracker. There's a handful of candidates but there are two clear front runners: the right-wing Juan Manuel Santos and the 'Green' Antanas Mockus.

Again in very layperson terms, Santos is playing the security card, vowing to 'keep Colombia safe', very much the same stance as the present government. He was the former defense minister under the current, and very popular, President Uribe and directed a number of military raids which helped push guerrilla groups out of the countryside and into the jungle. This has not only made the country markedly safer, but has also improved its infamous reputation for drugs and kidnapping internationally. Interestingly, however, the Uribe government is in some serious hot water over the alleged military executions of innocent village people, who were supposedly 'recruited' to the military before being killed so their bodies could be falsely presented as dead guerillas.

On the other side is Mockus, the university professor turned politician and former mayor of Bogota. His line is all about education, government transparency and change. He has overwhelming support from the younger-generation but things are a bit sketchy for him with the country's rural population who've for years been subject to the terror caused by guerrilla groups in such regions. For them, security is obviously a priority. According to some, Mockus' weak point, and perhaps subsequent downfall, may even be the lack of campaigning in these regions where many people live without electricity and, hence, television. To them, the name 'Mockus' would mean nothing!

In any event it's a fascinating time in Colombia and, although I wont of course be voting, I'm sure to be sitting in a pub somewhere, gripping my orange juice with the suspense of it all.