Benin politics
- Benin’s presidential election moves to the second round, with Lionel Zinsou winning 28% of the vote and Patrice Talon winning 24% during round one on March 6th. The candidates and the criticism they face loosely parallel the US election. Zinsou is like Clinton – once considered unbeatable; now seeing lead evaporate from a growing anxiety among the electorate that he will maintain the status quo, that he only represents the interests of the powerful (France and the ruling party) and that he is disconnected from the reality of Beninese people. Two funny examples of the latter: he once referred to the current season as “spring” and he has appeared at political events and on billboards wearing a very red shirt. Anyone with basic knowledge of Benin knows there is no such season as spring (only rainy and dry seasons) and red symbolizes danger and evil. Talon is more like Trump – made millions in the cotton industry, accused of numerous economic crimes and is widely considered the richest man in Benin. While he is perhaps completely unqualified to be president, people see him as a political outsider and a needed rupture from the status quo.
Reading
- Orientalism by Edward Said and The Miracle of Mindfulness by Thich Nhat Hanh, two of Jim Yong Kim’s favorite books.
- Reddit thread about protests against corruption in Brazil:
- Top comment: “As someone from a country that has had and still has a big problem with corruption and only recently started to tackle the problem (Romania), I must add that the government is only half of the problem. The other half is the public that participates in corruption. Every time you pay that cop some money so that he pretends that you didn’t cross that red light, you’re just as responsible as a politician taking a bribe for the situation in your country.”
- Relevant George Carlin bit: “Now, there’s one thing you might have noticed I don’t complain about: politicians. Everybody complains about politicians. Everybody says they suck. Well, where do people think these politicians come from? They don’t fall out of the sky. They don’t pass through a membrane from another reality. They come from American parents and American families, American homes, American schools, American churches, American businesses and American universities, and they are elected by American citizens. This is the best we can do folks. This is what we have to offer. It’s what our system produces: Garbage in, garbage out. If you have selfish, ignorant citizens, you’re going to get selfish, ignorant leaders. Term limits ain’t going to do any good; you’re just going to end up with a brand new bunch of selfish, ignorant Americans. So, maybe, maybe, maybe, it’s not the politicians who suck. Maybe something else sucks around here… like, the public. Yeah, the public sucks. There’s a nice campaign slogan for somebody: ‘The Public Sucks. F*ck Hope.”
Watching
- Cotonou in Motion by Mayeul Akpovi
- Does money make you mean?
- Shit Returned Peace Corps volunteers say at job interviews.
Links I like
- 50 pictures of bureaucrats from around the world. “Bureaucrats…contain 50 photographs and are the product of an anarchist’s heart, a historian’s mind and an artist’s eye.”
- 15 favorite urban breakfasts from around Africa