Campanhas

Campaigns.

At midnight today, the various political parties kicked off their election campaigns, forty five days ahead of voting day. More accurately, the political parties with access to state resources had a head start in kicking off their campaigns, and kick off with gusto they did. Timing-wise this wasn’t helpful for anyone trying to sleep near to a loud rally or event.

I was very fatigued in the morning, but I went milling around Lichinga and drank a couple of shots of espresso. Mozambique often has interesting buildings influenced by a Portuguese tropical style. I want to say this building, the provincial headquarters for the ruling party, is Art Deco, but I don’t really know what I’m talking about. I was nervous to snap it, especially on the first day of electoral campaigning, in case I was mistaken for a journalist reporting on Mozambique’s democratic backward slide, and because in Maputo security guards get very tetchy when people take photos of government buildings. However, a nearby vendor reassured me and said people in Maputo ‘não são alfabetizados’ (are not literate). Gotta love some anti-capital city sentiment.

On a video call my niece was showing me her animal book, while my sister was trying to get her dressed so they could go to Asda. Georgia complained she was being hassled. I hooted. She’s a chip off the old block, this one. At three years old, she’s already got an innate sense of needing to be left to her own devices. I strongly approve.