The harsh reality shows that the ballot, which caused so much expectation in the citizenship, may not be the system that allows us to reside in peace who will finally be the next president and vice president of the State if the unscrupulous proselytizing campaign that is being carried out is maintained.
It is appropriate to remember that the figure of the second electoral round was included in the Political Constitution of the State (CPE) of 2009, in response to a persistent lawsuit since 1985, when the binomial that left second in the general elections of that year was elected in the National Congress as President and Vice President of the Republic, and intensified in 1989, when the candidate who held third place in the general election was elected in the general election, prior barter of vice presidential candidates.
This extreme gave rise to the idea that “the people votes, but does not choose”, so we had to modify the way of choosing the first leaders when they did not obtain the absolute majority of votes in the elections. A long debate was opened between those who supported the congressional election and those who postulated the second electoral round. In both positions, in turn, there were different suggestions.
One of the underlying issues was that of governance: the election in Congress forced parties or alliances with parliamentary representation to establish agreements to build the absolute majority that not only allowed the first leaders to choose but also to agree on the distribution of power and the agreement of political-ideological proposals, trying to not repeat a bassoon in the congressional election as happened in 1979 (which is another story).
On that route, in the reform of the CPE of 1997 the congressional election was modified: it would only be voted between the binomials that the first two places occupied in the general elections, and if none obtained the absolute majority in two rounds of voting, the president and vice president was proclaimed to whom in the third round they obtained more votes.
In the total reform of the CPE promulgated in 2009, the ballot was incorporated that for the first time we will apply in the country on October 19 … But, voices appear suggesting the resignation of one of the two contestants -Rodrigo Paz and Tuto Quiroga -to avoid its realization, request that they justify with two arguments: 1. That its realization demands a lot of money (which there is not or is scarce); 2. That the crisis that the country is going through is of such magnitude that it requires a political agreement between both and other more political forces to advance the transmission of command and immediately adopt concerted adjustment measures.
So far it is suggestions without major future. First, because the two candidates are sure that they will benefit from the citizen vote and both, with every right, the chosen ones feel. Second, because both raise different political-ideological positions on which citizens must opt. Third, because it has been pressed for the ballot in the contemporary history of the country, which is time and opportunity to apply it.
Another argument in favor of the ballot is that it will allow future rulers to have a legitimacy of initiation that would help them break the limits that in the Legislative Assembly imposes the lack of absolute majority and arrange with the different forces once they begin to apply their respective government proposal.
Unfortunately, the optimistic vision of this columnist about the ballot, although he was the defender of the old congressional election system, opaque (1) the way in which the citizen vote is being disputed; (2) The rude dirty war that has taken over the political debate, especially in social networks, but also in audiovisual media and even some printed ones, which prevents a healthy discernment; (3) The artificial polarization that is being created between both applicants by their followers who also show growing levels of ignorance, racism and fanaticism, attributes that move us away from the democratic ideal); (4) The appearance of agoreros who already advance the possibility of “fraud” without any technical support, but they do, apparently, to heal in health in case the results are repeated …
A possible leather of containment to this situation is to remember that the great opposition in the current circumstances is between democracy and authoritarianism. In one way or another, on August 17, citizens defeated authoritarianism that is demanded by the socialism of the 21st century, but not to authoritarian behaviors prohibited by the most within society or to which libertarian is claimed, that is that of those who seek power only so that the tortilla becomes turning and not to build a stable democracy.
There are 42 days left to rectify directions or succumb in the attempt …
