Presidential Elections in Portugal - A Foreign Perspective

Yesterday I followed carefully the news related to the election of the new President of Portugal. Without any surprise, Cavaco Silva will remain the President for another 5 years (53% of the votes). Also without any surprise, a couple of other things happened that marked these elections as another demonstration of incompetence of a country that I love, but also of a country that makes me sad.. specially now, seen from a foreign perspective.

Yesterday, a new system was tested in the whole country to facilitate people's votes. A new website was created that allowed a citizen to comfortably vote at home, without having to face long queues and the usual lack or organization of the places to exercise this right. Obviously, this didn't work out! The system "crashed" and everybody had to go to the usual places to vote. Together with this, the new electronic citizen's card (a truly remarkable card that puts together ID, tax no, social security no, health no., and also the old voter registration card ) also faced several problems leading a lot of people to give up voting and contributing to a turnout record number of 53,4% (the highest number ever seen)!

Well, if half of the population didn't vote, and half of the one that did vote for Cavaco, then with some simple math we conclude that 1/4 of the country wanted him to be elected. Nice!

Of course the turnout rate is not totally explained by these technical problems... This election took place amid a mounting debt crisis in Portugal. The country's economic problems have been compounded by sluggish growth and stringent labour laws that weaken business competitiveness. Unlike Greece, however, there has been no violent unrest in the streets. And unlike Ireland, where the economic crisis has led to a political near-collapse, its banks have not been exposed to toxic assets or property bubbles.

The president’s post is largely ceremonial but he does have the power to dismiss the prime minister and dissolve parliament without having to justify the decision.

The BBC's Alison Roberts reports from Lisbon that many on the left fear that, with a renewed mandate, a conservative president might be tempted before long to take such action in the hope of seeing the party he once led, the centre-right Social Democrats, return to government.

But after casting his vote in a chilly Lisbon, Cavaco Silva, a former economics professor who was prime minister from 1985 to 1995, said he did not want to speculate about that possibility.
“I am a president in favour of stability. I consider that it is very important for Portugal to have political stability to solve its problems,” he said.

This result is expected to ensure short-term political stability as the government fights to avoid an international financial bailout. However, my opinion is that everyday people care less and less about a possible change is the country's route. I see no hope on a beautiful country full of potential, but trapped under corruption, bad leaders, and no hope. As I usually say, the typical portuguese is happy as long as Benfica wins. The rest, doesn't matter that much.

The Usual Suspects

Yes, I know it's a classic, but it was missing me for a long time. Tonight I saw it and yes, it's brilliant!

You get trap in the movie as soon as it starts. Looks confusing in the beginning, but you quickly get into the plot..  When it gets to the middle you already want to know how it is going to end, and as time goes by you loose yourself trying to understand what is really going on. The end... excellent!

The movie is about a boat that was mysteriously destroyed, and follows the interrogation of Roger "Verbal" Kint (Kevin Spacey), one of the "usual" suspects in this complex accident. Using flashback and narration, Kint's story becomes increasingly complex and interesting. Kevin Spacey plays a very good role on the movie, and without surprise he was awarded with the "best supporting actor" Oscar. Besides his superb performance and the complex but addicting plot, I also like the soundtrack very much! Helps getting you all in the movie..

This is one of those films that when it finishes you are still trying to connect the dots and make everything fit. Nowadays there are a couple of good ones doing it. This was one of the first. A truly must-see movie.

Rodrigo y Gabriela

Today I'm gonna tell you about a man and a women, that with a single guitar each are capable of doing very creative music, catchy from the first moment you hear it..

Rodrigo y Gabriela are a Mexican musical duo who specialize in playing fast, rhythmic acoustic guitars. After having started playing in a trash metal band (yes, a trash metal band!), they moved to Dublin where they start playing in some pubs. Soon they became famous and in 2001 released their first album - Foc. So far they have released 6 albums in total, being "Rodrigo y Gabriela" my favorite.. Particularly I like when they play Metallica cover songs and some other nice oldies (Check "Stairway to Heaven", beautiful cover..).

Nowadays they have become very popular, having performed a song from their latest album "11:11" in "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno". Also in May 2010 they performed in front of Barack Obama, with Beyoncé also featuring..

Well enough of talking and more of listening. Check the video below, as you can truly get a sense of what kind of music they play and especially how they play!

"Diablo Rojo"

Fun isn't it?! Just read on Wikipedia that last September they had to stop some shows because of a stress injury caused by the heavily playing style of Gabriela...

If you are looking for a "best of" kind of thing, check the album "Live in Japan". It's amazing! I spent some weeks listening to is from the first to the last song. They are really entertaining and their music unique!

But do it, don t just say you will...

Here is my remark for this new year...

"There is nothing wrong with change, if it is in the right direction"
Winston Churchill

I come from a country where hope is the most common strategy used for everything. Hope for a better wage, hope for a better medical system, hope for lower taxes, hope for the football team to win, etc. By now, i guess all of us know that most of the time hope does not help the world to change that much. On the contrary, action does! Both for the society as a whole and, most importantly, for us as individuals. Subscribe to the gym, engage in volunteer work, learn guitar, look for a new job, spend more time with your family, get a dog (or cat, crocodile, whatever). But do it, don t just say you will..

To keep in mind: less hope, more action!

As for me, after more than 1 year without any sports and a surgery in between, I will return to rugby as soon as possible this year. My prediction points to April (maximum!), as until then I will need some work on the gym to be able to play :)

I wish all of you a great 2011!

And so it is

Hey everyone, and welcome to my blog ;)

As this is my first post, I should tell you what you can expect from this blog... Well, even I don't know exactly what to write around here. I actually created this blog some weeks ago, but so far haven t really had time to start it..

In case you might be interested to know: Where did this idea come from??

I must say that in the last couple of months I felt like writing many times, about many different things. And I realized that happened mostly due to what I am currently doing, a master degree. "And what's so special about it?" you might ask. A lot. I ll come back to this one of this days..

Anyways, i will publish some nice stuff mostly about cinema, music, sports, business, economics, travelling, and many many more. Basically, whatever comes to my mind. Hope you like it ;)