Let's Get Beyond The Politics of Impeachment And Brexit - Wos - Canguro And Argentina Upcoming Election

[This post is not what you were expecting.  Nor me.  It began as a way to step back and remind folks that there's more than US and UK politics happening in the world.  While we were in Argentina this summer we learned a little about their presidential elections.  I thought I'd offer bit of Argentine politics for folks.  That led me to the political trap video that's near the bottom, which is worth a post all of its own.  It's very catchy, even without understanding the lyrics.  Be sure to watch it.  Will this sort of thing be part of the US election in 2020?  I've also added the lyrics and a translation.]

I don't see much coverage of the Argentine presidential election this October.  On our visit in June and July people all agreed they were being squeezed by high inflation and life was getting harder.  Argentina is a country with a history much longer than the US and in the early 1900s was one of the wealthiest in the world.  People are sophisticated.  They have free health care and university education.  Current President Macri has imposed harsh economic restrictions.  People we talked to were not shy in voicing their opinions for one candidate or the other.

From AS/COA (Americas Society/Council on the Americas)

"Argentina’s first-round vote on October 27 will see the election of president and vice president, and nearly half of congressional seats (130 deputies and 24 senators). While President Mauricio Macri is in the running for a second term, Argentines chose who else will appear on the ballot in the August 11 primary elections, known as the PASO. The main obstacles to the pro-business president of the Together for Change coalition are Argentina’s economic recession and a peronist front. He polls behind center-left Alberto Fernández, who's running mate is former President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner.
Some 33 million Argentines are eligible to cast the compulsory vote, which will go on to a November runoff if none of the presidential candidates wins at least 45 percent, or 40 percent with a 10-point margin over the runner-up."

From Forbes:

"On September 29 the Argentine province of Mendoza will elect its governor and renew one-half of its bicameral legislature. Mendoza is Argentina’s fifth most populous province, and one of only five provinces (out of 24) currently governed by a member of President Mauricio Macri’s Together for Change alliance. A Together for Change victory in Mendoza would provide a glimmer of optimism for a dignified loss by Macri in the October 27 presidential election against Peronist Alberto Fernández (and against Fernández’s vice presidential nominee, former president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner) as well as provide hope for some Together for Change down ballot success in congressional races. In contrast, a defeat would foreshadow a potential shellacking on October 27 and demoralize the Together for Change forces even more than they already are. . ."

This article was written by "Mark P. Jones[who] is the Joseph D. Jamail Chair in Latin American Studies and the Director of the Center for Energy Studies’ Argentina Program at Rice University’s James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy."

That, of course, gives me a chance to post some Mendoza pictures from last summer I didn't post yet.

 The fountain in the huge Parque San Martin

Vistante Winery - Mendoza is the center of the Argentine wine industry

Mendoza is also a center for olive oil.  This picture is from the Pasrai olive oil factory.











And here's a more personal reporting style that leads this post in a different direction from Americas Quarterly:

"BUENOS AIRES - “He can’t stop coughing/working 12-hour-long shifts/he makes two meager coins a day to support a family of four/and don’t talk to me about meritocracy, don’t be funny, don’t screw with me/because without opportunities/that mierda doesn’t work.”
It’s hard to miss the frustration driving the lyrics of “Canguro,” a song written by 21-year-old Argentine trap star Wos, whose criticisms of the status quo under President Mauricio Macri have struck a chord with many. Debuting just days before the August primary election that delivered a blow to Macri’s reelection prospects, the song quickly climbed the charts and has racked up over 44 million views on YouTube.
Wos is among a cohort of young public figures who have used popular culture and social media to mobilize opposition to Macri among youth. The demographic has been hit particularly hard by the recession under the current government. In the second quarter of 2019, unemployment among ages 14 to 29 rose to 18.6% for men and to 23.4% for women, according to the latest government figures."

Here's Wos' video.  With the introduction above you can get a good sense of the power of this song even without understanding Spanish.  It says it has 50 million hits since August 8.  That's about six weeks.




And here's a version with the lyrics as he sings.

Here are just the lyrics from Genius.com.  I've added a Google Translate English version in purple.

[Letra de "CANGURO"]

[Intro]
Hoy no voy a salir y voy a quedarme en la' nube' donde nadie sube

[Estribillo]
(Uah) No vengas a molestar, dicen que está todo mal‚ bueno
(Uah) Yo estoy más que bien acá y no te pienso ni mirar‚ ciego (Ciego)
Vamo'‚ repriman la mierda que tienen guardada en el pecho
Traguen y callen hasta estar desecho', párense siempre derecho
"Cállenlo, sédenlo‚ que haga lo que quiera, pero sáquenlo" y
"Cállenlo, sédenlo‚ que haga lo que quiera, pero sáquenlo"
Ey, háganme caso, ¿o no tienen claro que soy el rey?
Háganme caso que soy la ley, dame mis blíster', mis Parisiennes, wah


["CANGURO" lyrics]:
[Enter]
I'm not going out today and I'm going to stay in the 'cloud' where nobody goes up

[Chorus]
(Uah) Don't come bother, they say it's all wrong ‚well
(Uah) I'm more than good here and I don't even think about you ‚blind (Blind)
Vamo '‚repress the shit they have in their chest
Swallow and shut up until you are wasted ', always stand straight
"Shut it up, know it‚ do what you want, but take it out "and
"Shut it up, know it‚ do what you want, but take it out "
Hey, pay attention to me, or are you not sure that I am the king?
Listen to me that I am the law, give me my blister ', my Parisiennes, wah

[Verso 1]
Patada de canguro, golpe duro
No vamo' a parar con esto, negro, te lo juro
Traje cianuro pa' meterle' en el trago
Cinco minuto' acá y ya estamo' causando estragos
Un mago nos quiere hacer desaparecer
Pero esta plaga rara nunca para de crecer
Somo' de los pocos locos que andan buscando placer
Y aunque quieran vernos roto', no damo' brazo a torcer
No para de toser, trabajando doce hora'
Cobra dos moneda' al mes pa' mantener cuatro persona'
Y no hables de meritocracia, me da gracia, no me joda'
Que sin oportunidades esa mierda no funciona
Y no, no hace falta gente que labure más
Hace falta que con menos se pueda vivir en paz
Mandale gas, no te perdás, acordate dónde estás
Fijáte siempre de qué lado de la mecha te encontrás


[Verse 1]
Kangaroo kick, hard hit
I'm not going to stop with this, black, I swear
Cyanide suit to get him in the drink
Five minutes 'here and I'm already' wreaking havoc
A wizard wants to make us disappear
But this weird plague never stops growing
Somo 'of the few crazy people who are looking for pleasure
And even if they want to see us broken ', I don't dare' arm to twist
He doesn't stop coughing, working twelve hours'
Charge two coins' per month to 'keep four people'
And don't talk about meritocracy, I'm funny, don't fuck me '
That without opportunities that shit doesn't work
And no, you don't need people to work anymore
It is necessary that with less one can live in peace
Send gas, don't get lost, remember where you are
Always notice which side of the wick you found


[Verso 2]
Dice: "What up? Esto pega como coca"
La gente baila loca, el cuello se disloca
La droga en lo' dedo', que vaya de boca en boca
Sentís como te choca, esa vaina subió la nota
Salto como una pulga, empezó la purga
Largo todo fresco como un PXXR GVNG, hijo de…
Otra vez con sed entre fiebres y migraña'
Vuelvo a soñar con un viejo en el medio de una montaña
Me miró y me dijo: "De la vida nadie se salva
Y eso de la juventud es solo una actitud del alma"
Qué virtud extraña, ahora me queman las entrañas
Mi mejor conversación la tuve ayer con una araña
No sé qué hora es, ni me interesa
Acá siempre son 4:20, y estamo' de la cabeza, con simpleza
Birra barata y mala en lata, má' la planta santa esa
La que calma el cuerpo y te lo desestresa
El hood está de fiesta, el culo se te tensa
Entiendo que te molesta, la empatía te cuesta
Y si ahora gritamo' y cantamo' en modo de protesta
Es porque preguntamo' bien y nadie nos dio una respuesta
Se creen dueños, salgan del medio, lo digo en serio
Fuera la yuta que meten al barrio, le tira a los pibe' y le mata los sueño'
Bueno, juego, del underground, del agujero
Estamo' agitando de nuevo, sacando pa' afuera a eso' carroñero', ñero

[Verse 2]
He says: "What up? This hits like coca"
People dance crazy, the neck dislocates
The drug in the 'finger', that goes from mouth to mouth
You feel how it hits you, that pod raised the note
I jump like a flea, the purge began
Long all fresh as a PXXR GVNG, son of ...
Again thirsty between fevers and migraine '
I dream again of an old man in the middle of a mountain
He looked at me and said: "No one is saved from life
And that of youth is just an attitude of the soul "
What a strange virtue, now my insides burn
I had my best conversation yesterday with a spider
I don't know what time it is, nor interest me
It's always 4:20 here, and I'm right in the head, simply
Cheap and bad canned birra, plus the holy plant that
The one that calms the body and unstresses you
The hood is partying, the ass tenses
I understand that it bothers you, empathy costs you
And if now I shout 'and sing' in protest mode
It's because we asked 'well and nobody gave us an answer
They believe they own, get out of the way, I mean it
Out the jute they put into the neighborhood, he throws the kids 'and kills them the dreams'
Well, play, underground, hole
I'm 'waving again, getting out' that scavenger 'outside, ñero


[Estribillo]
(Uah) No vengas a molestar, dicen que está todo mal, bueno
(Uah) Yo estoy más que bien acá y no te pienso ni mirar, ciego (Ciego)
Vamo', repriman la mierda que tienen guardada en el pecho
Traguen y callen hasta estar desecho', párense siempre derecho
"Cállenlo, sédenlo, que haga lo que quiera, pero sáquenlo" y
"Cállenlo, sédenlo, que haga lo que quiera, pero sáquenlo"
Ey, háganme caso, ¿o no tienen claro que soy el rey?
Háganme caso que soy la ley, dame mis blíster', mis Parisiennes, wah

[Chorus]
(Uah) Don't come bother, they say it's all wrong ‚well
(Uah) I'm more than good here and I don't even think about you ‚blind (Blind)
Vamo '‚repress the shit they have in their chest
Swallow and shut up until you are wasted ', always stand straight
"Shut it up, know it‚ do what you want, but take it out "and
"Shut it up, know it‚ do what you want, but take it out "
Hey, pay attention to me, or are you not sure that I am the king?
Listen to me that I am the law, give me my blister ', my Parisiennes, wah