Macri o Filmus?

I never cease to be amazed at what I learn from talking to taxi drivers. Some are taciturn; one took me for a 15 peso cab ride that should have cost about 6; others are so thrilled that I try to speak to them in Spanish (or castellano, as I have learned people here prefer to call it) that they gab on for the entire ride about whatever they feel I should know. Restaurants, sights, and last night--politics.

There is an old castle in downtown BA that is now the city waterworks. I asked the driver what it was on my way home last night, and he explained. Then he asked where I was from--for some strange reason, people are always suprised when I say the US. When I told him, he turned around fully in his seat. ¨No estas de George Bush, no?¨ he asked me suspiciosly. I assured him that no, I definitely was NOT de George Bush, and most of the rest of the people in the US are not de George Bush either. He then demanded to know how he had managed to get re-elected, and I tried, in broken Spanish, to explain. I explained that someone lied (anyone know how to say ¨Swift Boat Veterans for Truth¨in Spanish?) and his opponent didn´t defend himself. This seemed to satisfy him.

Then we shifted to Argentine politics, and I asked about the upcoming mayoral runoff election. He forcefully explained--turning around fully to emphasize the point a few more times--that Macri was the only candidate who could possibly become mayor of Buenos Aires. This seemed unremarkable except that today I learned that Macri is two steps shy of a true fascist.

This got me to thinking about what it means to be on the right or left here as opposed to there--it´s not as though anyone is going to dismantle the public health system (though they recently privatized the water utilities, and privatization seems the order of the day). It´s a question I´ll have to look at more. Even Mussolini started out a Socialist--he just switched the Italian people for the working class and class struggle became the struggle between nations.

Hmmm.

PS--Happy Birthday, Grandma!