Give 'Em Some Barack!

Published in O Globo
(Brazil) on November 5 2008
by Joca Souza Leão (link to originallink to original)
Translated from by Caroline Stern. Edited by .
If I were American, i would have voted for Barack Obama. But, since I am Brazilian, i rooted for John McCain.

In my opinion, any voter who was Black, Latin, Chicano, Arab, Asian, Greek, Russian, Italian, female, gay, lesbian etc - except for Cubans from Miami - didn't even flinch: Obama all the way! If you were poor, give 'em some Barack! plus, Obama's black. Mixed. Hawaiian. A white mother, a black and alcoholic Kenyan father. Just imagine how much empathy that give you with the white saxons!

If Barack Obama keeps the promises he has made, he will resuscitate American public health and education, increase social security and assistance programs, reduce the taxes of the less rich, increase the subsidies for rural farmers, guarantee manufacturing jobs (supporting the U.S. market through tariff barriers), close the concentration camp at Guantanamo, end the war in Iraq and figure out whatever is going on in Afghanistan. By 2010, the U.S. will no longer be dependent on oil from the middle east: the ethanol is ours! I mean, theirs.

You see why I would be Obama's dedicated fan - if i were American? Now, being Brazilian, I couldn't bring myself to root for him. What is good for the United States is bad for Brazil. Subsidies, tarriff barriers, and corn ethanol (while the world is starving to death). And how does Brazil end up?

Elections are a serious business. You can't root with your heart. As the good patriot that I am, I rooted for McCain. If it didn't pan out with the vote - which it didn't - I had at least hoped Florida would not disappoint. The pureblood republican Charlie Crist, was supposed to frustrate Obama as Jeff Bush, the younger brother, frustrated Al Gore eight years ago.

Anyway, long live Barack Obama! And all that his election represents as a mark of civilization.


Se eu fosse eleitor americano, teria votado em Barack Obama. Mas como sou brasileiro, torci por John McCain.

Em minha opinião, eleitor americano negro, latino, chicano, árabe, asiático, grego, russo, ítalo, mulher, gay, lésbica etc., menos cubano de Miami, não teve nem o que discutir: Obama na cabeça! Se era pobre, então, Barack neles! E ainda por cima Obama é negro. Mestiço. Havaiano. Mãe branca, pai queniano e alcoólatra. Já imaginou a empáfia dos branquelos saxônicos como é que tá?

Se Barack Obama cumprir o que prometeu, vai ressuscitar a saúde pública americana e a educação, ampliar a seguridade e a assistência social, reduzir os impostos dos menos ricos, aumentar os subsídios dos produtores rurais, garantir o emprego dos operários (apoiando a indústria americana por meio de barreiras alfandegárias), fechar o campo de concentração de Guantánamo, acabar com a guerra no Iraque e resolver a parada no Afeganistão. Até 2010, os Estados Unidos não vão mais depender do petróleo do Oriente Médio: O etanol é nosso! Quer dizer, deles.

Tá vendo só porque se eu fosse americano seria Obama de carteirinha? Agora, sendo brasileiro, não podia torcer por ele. O que é bom para os Estados Unidos é ruim para o Brasil. Subsídios, barreiras e etanol de milho (o mundo morrendo de fome). E a gente, como é que fica?

Eleição é coisa séria. Não dá pra votar nem torcer com o coração. Como bom patriota que sou, torci por McCain. Se não desse no voto, como não deu, esperava que a Flórida não lhe faltasse. Que o governador Charlie Crist, republicano de quatro costados, garfasse Obama, como Jeef Bush, o caçula, garfou Al Gore há oito anos.

Anyway, viva Barack Obama! E tudo que sua eleição representa como marco civilizatório.





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