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Creative Nonfiction

Thursday, February 18, 2016.

 "The President of the Republic has called a Referendum to consult with the population about the approval or rejection of the constitutional project that allows his fourth consecutive re-nomination to the presidency, according to a reform guided by the situation of Law 168 approved with the difference of only one I voted during an extraordinary session of the Constituent Assembly, when the assembly members were in recess "- say the news of today's newspaper, Ernesto commented to the grandparents, Huascar and González, half brothers and almost half friends.

 - In addition, these votes will take place on Sunday 21, that is, this coming Sunday, being observed by a special delegation sent by the Organization of American States to guarantee the normal development of voting, "concluded Ernesto Orellana Antezana - as he called himself - showing the newspaper to the theoretically immutable grandparents under their respective monocles - that of grandfather Huascar on the right and that of grandfather González on the left - and on their expressionless indigenous faces between hats, scarves and cane, each one.

 · The radio said that the peasants are forced to vote - commented Grandfather Gonzáles, fixing his hearing aid in his ear.

 · Everyone is obliged - Grandfather Huáscar confirmed, leafing through a magazine… pornographic!

 · Wasn't this a democracy? - Asked Grandfather González, taking the magazine from his brother's hands - lend me this magazine, Ernestito!

 Ernesto, looking at the cover of the magazine, laughed.

 Sunday, February 21

 Six o'clock in the morning.

 Grandpa González, sticking his hand out from under the covers, turns off the alarm clock, and looks at the calendar hanging on the opposite wall:

 - Damn Election Day! - He exclaims, waking up the roommate, his grandfather Huáscar, who sees him get out of bed without chinelos, to change his clothes.

 - Go back to sleep, old man! We are not required to vote.

 - I know, old resmungon. I don't vote, but I can go to the central square to see what happens.

 I'm going to prepare breakfast.

 - stubborn old man! - and grandfather Huáscar, gets up too.

 They went out to the square at seven, well groomed and with a little national-national flag - a gift from Ernesto.

 The square was full of people at that hour, setting up food stalls, political propaganda and megaphones on every corner, from where the results of the vote should be given.

 By asserting the right to vote, citizens appeared in this mass vote, carrying banners, party flags, sashes, wearing hats with the photos of their candidates, setting off fireworks, eating an egg sandwich with tomato, and drinking ice cold beer. - for those who had money - or fermented corn chicha - for those who could not pay for other processed beverages.

 Children played in the streets, and many came out of their omens to breathe "fresh air"

 - There is a lot of false tranquility in the environment, don't you think? Nidita asked Grandpa González.

 - But there is a lot to look at - Grandpa González concluded, correctly, since they spent the day like this, looking at people, eating, talking

 - The vote is over, Ernesto commented.

 - But there are still many people on the street ...

 - They want to know the result.

 And suddenly, the megaphone started to sound,:

 "Once the aspiration of the votes is over, 49% of the votes are counted in favor of the reinstatement against 51% against the resumption of the president for the fourth consecutive time."

 The people crowded in the square to listen to the megaphone, rejoiced:

 -      we won! - exclaimed grandfather Huáscar, sitting on the bench kindly arranged by Ernesto, owner of the stall selling national and international magazines and newspapers from "yours" or district.

 - Long live! They shouted, pulling out their hats, waving the flags and even an improvised band appeared from no one knows where, to which two couples were formed to dance the traditional dance of that culture, a world closed to new determinations chaotic outside and destined for self-destruction.

 Little time passed.

 Twelve hours. more exactly, for the government to strike, communicated by the same megaphone:

 ", The government has just approved a new bill that allows the reform of the political Constitution of the State, favoring the reinstatement of the president"

 The

 - uuuu !, they booed

 - Out thief !.

 - Fraud! Fraud! She is a ferocious- people shouted,

 -      a shame! - said the secretary of the opposition party, being broadcast live to all the people, through the young man's megaphone.

 And all the people, listening to the broadcast, got excited, heating up the fights and the climate of the square, - out with the government

 "Let the dictator die!" They shouted, throwing tomatoes and rotten eggs at the mayor's office, protected by more than forty heavily armed policemen.

 The policemen, in turn, began to repress the protesters with clubs and fists.

 The protesters, in turn, responded in the same way, as people beat the policemen, non-stop.

 - assassins! !, the grandparents shouted, supported by Ernesto, who protected them by placing a large umbrella in front of them, allowing a partial vision of what was happening.

 - This reform of the Political Constitution of the State is nothing more than a way of perpetuating that dictator in power, Ernesto commented, sitting in front of his grandparents.

 That country, small and insignificant, had thus changed the vision of the world regarding it.

 The enraged marchers drew sticks and knives to confront the police, also throwing orange peels, eggs and rotten tomatoes.

 Ernesto closed his stall selling national and international magazines and newspapers.

 Ernesto stood on the benches

 - what a horror! There is a huge bunch of people right at the door of the mayor's office ", craned his neck.

 What's up?

 - They want to run for mayor.

 - What have you imagined? Cowards! The leader of the marchers shouted, a certain man dressed in black who ran with a loaded shotgun, shooting into the air.

 Is it forbidden to protest what is just? Or, isn't it illegal to build a road in an ecological reserve? , protested the man now in a megaphone, waving the marchers, and disappearing at that very moment among the people waving their colorful banners.

 The police officers arrested more than fifty people, claiming safety.

 The injured totaled two thousand three hundred, with two seriously injured, in addition to one still unidentified death.

 .

 -

 - damn it! can not be!! And, a rebel without a cause, he turned red with rage, hitting the back of the bench, with so much, so much rage, that he broke one of the legs of the bench - the one he just threw at the policemen.

 - - sold! - As he he yelled from the floor wet with the rain that began to fall.

 A year after the riots, the government appealed to the court regarding the term limits, which were abolished, which allowed the fourth nomination of the official candidate for the 2019 elections, the year of the well-known electoral fraud perpetrated by the movement to socialism. under the command of its leader, Evo Morales, who left the country after various accusations against him.

February 08, 2021 23:48

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1 comment

Courtney C
01:23 Feb 18, 2021

Hey, good work on creating a dramatic atmosphere and believable conflict in your story! I'm assuming it's a personal choice, since I looked in a couple of your other stories, but having your dialogue formatted with dashes instead of quotation marks makes it harder for the reader to follow along because it's a little alienating. Having a more familiar format would help with the story flow and accessibility. But, if you're dead set on dashes, who am I to tell you to change lol. Anyway, enjoyed your piece.

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