Mexico: Expats savor Obama victory

Written by Michael Forbes

Thursday, 06 November 2008

Chapala area Democrats shout with joy as Obama makes it over the top in electoral votes, Tuesday, November 4th at an Ajijic victory party U.S. Foreign Service employees aren’t supposed to show political bias in public but keeping emotions in check wasn’t easy for some at Tuesday’s election day party at the Instituto Cultural Mexicano Americano in Guadalajara. U.S. Consul General Edward Ramotowski set the example by maintaining his vote secret and even refusing to acknowledge a Barack Obama victory until the 270 electoral college mark had passed. For some of his younger charges at the consulate, staying bipartisan was much harder. When CNN finally flashed up the news that Obama would indeed be the next president of the United States, Mignon Turner let out a shriek, jumped in the air and hugged her African-American colleagues with whom she works on the consulate’s visa line. Composing herself, the teary-eyed North Carolinian then spoke carefully to curious reporters: “It means a lot to me. You don’t think that you would see a woman running for vice president and African-American for president. I’m very happy.” The stats show that the over-65 demographic favored McCain over Obama but you wouldn’t have guessed it from the contrast in fortunes at the respective Republican and Democratic bashes in the Lake Chapala area. Some 400 Democrats and a handful of valiant Republicans packed into a restaurant adjoining the Ajijic Plaza to watch the drama unfold. From the moment Pennsylvania went into the Democrat column, the initial tension eased and the volume of the cheering at the Jardin Restaurant intensified as state after state turned blue. “We can all relax now,” sighed Henri Loridans, whose wife Sandra compared the result to “putting a man on the moon.” The mood at the sparsely attended Republican party was somber but some were able to put a brave face on the disappointing outcome. “I’m concerned about the future of our country. I’m a laissez-faire capitalist, a Ronald Reagan Republican and I’m concerned,” said Ralph Courtney, who hosted the party with his wife Pat in their home in lower La Floresta. “But I’m hopeful that it’s going to work. I believe in the American people and the American system. I just hope too many people don’t get hurt in the meantime. Obama is our president. He’s my president too and I’ll support him.” In Guadalajara, where Mexicans outnumbered Americans at the consulate’s party, the mood was also subdued as one of the seven television screens showed images of the horrific airplane crash in Mexico City that killed Interior Minister Juan Camilo Mouriño and several others. Addressing the gathering, Ramotowski praised the democratic process in his own country but also expressed his sympathy and sadness for the loss of life in the capital. Out in Ajijic, as Obama inched closer and closer to the magic number, newbies and longtime residents said they saw the result as a revindication of the United States internationally. “I think Obama is going to put our country back on the map. He’ll make us feel much prouder of where we’re from,” said Tom Sheehan of Idaho, a one-year Lakeside resident. Paul Callins from Washington D.C. compared Obama’s victory with “the liberation of Europe in World War II,” while Jim Kaye, a resident of Lakeside for two decades, predicted that Mexico and Canada would be “treated much more decently than in the past.” Like many Americans, Mexicans believed Obama’s victory spells a new dawn for the United States’ relations with the rest of the world. Fernando Osuna Rojas, a professor of North American studies, said the election of Obama will cause “a change in the perception of the United States” and “a change of direction in world politics.” Farm workers’ leader Enrique Gutierrez said Mexicans felt an affinity with Obama because of his background. “He isn’t black, he’s from the raza moreno like us. He’ll help minorities like Latinos.” In a retired community like Lake Chapala, one might imagine the age and wisdom of McCain would have swung the day. But for Susan Cawston, McCain came over as “stodgy, kind of old.” A revealing comment this, considering Cawston, a New Yorker, is a 70-plus-year-old Republican. Art Wigdahl, a former commander of American Legion Post Three in Guadalajara, admitted he voted for Obama because he was young. “He’ll do a good job of picking the people around him. He knows he doesn’t know it all. If he gets good advisors around him and listens to them, he’ll do a good job.” The epic nature of the election and the interest generated, both in the United States and worldwide, found much resonance on Tuesday night. Said Christopher Teale, press officer at the U.S. Consulate: “What we’ve seen is something historic. Not just with Obama but the huge participation of the American people.” Christine Barker has lived in Mexico with her family for 15 years but could not contain her excitement. “This is the biggest election I’ll see in my lifetime. I’m just thrilled to be a part of it.”