Back in October before the election I heard mixed reviews of our now president. Many of the Rotarians and professors, (very educated, upper class people often owning their own businesses), preferred McCain as a candidate because they thought he "understood Colombia better." I gathered that his meant he supported the Free Trade Agreement, and would continue Bush's policies of funding the Colombian government's military to fight the guerrillas and drug wars. Several Rotarians even admitted that they were rooting for McCain because they liked his running-mate, harboring some sort of perverse political crush on Sarah Palin. But although they saw McCain as better for the participation of Colombia in international business as well, they did admit that they thought that Obama would be better for the world, especially because he wanted to end the war in Iraq.
Non-Rotarians and more politically left-leaning friends thought that Colombia needed to improve their infrastructure before opening themselves up to free trade with economic superpowers like the US, and stated that they were ready for a change in politics--both in Colombia and abroad. Uribe and Bush were good friends and due to this, among other reasons, Colombia has progressed immensely in the past 8 years, but their policies are starting to stagnate therefore necessitating a change in leadership. The closer it got to the election, and the more likely it looked like Obama was going to win, I found the majority of Colombians already starting to accept Obama as a world leader.
Now, after Obama has taken office, people everywhere seem to be inspired with a sense of optimism that they all admit has not been perceived in a long time. They look to the US's ability to reinvent themselves as a model for Colombia to overcome their turbulent history. One of my colleagues even admitted that she cried throughout most of his speech because she was so moved by the importance of Obama's inauguration and his words. They admire his intelligence and that of the people with whom he has surrounded himself, his message to the world that the US president, serving as the country's icon, now sees that they are dependent on other countries and ready to respectfully participate in an international community. People will admit that when he was speaking they felt like he acknowledged them, sitting on their couch in Medellin, caring about their existence.
Colombians are fascinated that our country would choose a leader from such a mixed racial and cultural background, serving as inspiration for everyone that even people not born into hegemonic political families can be president. An email has been circulating with a slide show telling the story of Obama's family and praising the open-mindedness of his mother. Many of my friends attribute his policies to the way that he was raised, reflecting the importance of family in Latin American culture. The people in Tumaco, a coastal area consisting mainly of Afro-Colombians, celebrated the inauguration with three entire days of dancing fueled by their excitement that they could identify with such an important man. It surprises me that Obama is portrayed as an African-American and having proven how the country has progressed despite being founded on slavery, when really he is the son of an immigrant and mid-westerner.
But similar to what I am hearing from home, Colombians has extremely high expectations for Obama while realizing that he has an extremely difficult task before him. They sympathize with his responsibility for saving the world's economy, knowing that Colombian markets rely on the economic success of the US and therefore are counting on him just as much as anyone in North America to ensure that their way of life does not change drastically. It is also interesting how realistic they are in recognizing that the first four years Obama is in office he will be trying to repair Bush's messy work, and will need a second term to actually carry out most of what he is promising.
As usual, Colombians have impressed me. This time it is their awareness and involvement in international politics. However, the one thing that surprises me is that most of the people discussing the inauguration are over 30. My friends and other students or young professionals do not seem to be following Obama as closely, which saddens me because they are the ones who will be most effected by his presidency. I tried to organize an inauguration party at a time when people were available but none of my friends took interest. Maybe political lethargy has overcome those of my generation ubiquitously and not just in the US.
Overall the media is true when they proclaim that the whole world is watching Obama. The main point that Colombians insist upon is that the United States has just chosen a huge opportunity to redeem themselves and enact much-needed change, and everyone hopes that we fully take advantage of this 'once in a national history' occasion.
No comments:
Post a Comment