Vamos a ver

Before the election results were official, people in San Ramon began to celebrate. The past three days have been filled with rojo y negro (the Sandanista colors), parades, rallies and other festivities. We are living in the heart of Sandanista territory so there has been a lot of excitement over Daniel Ortega´s victory (with 38% of the vote). Boisterous caravans of supporters have been weaving through the streets during the day and evening in pick-ups and trucks stuffed with kids, parents, bother and sisters, parent, grandparents.

Luckily, the elections passed without any major problems or incidents. As they say here, it was ¨tanquilo¨. Regardless of the victor, it has been refreshing to see how seriously people treat the right to vote (the voter turnout was 70%). Young people are also more active because the voting age is 16. Despite the celebrations, I think many people were surprised that the FSLN won and not the ALN (the Liberal-conservative party). Some are concerned about how other countries (such as the US) are going to react. Others are hoping that the change in government will direct some much needed funds towards health, education and other basic infrastructure (maybe the roads will be fixed!). Most people commenting on the election results end by saying ¨vamos a ver¨ (we´ll see).