READERS WRITE
CRAFT BUSINESS BOOM
Have you noticed how handmade goods by artisans are very much in demand? There are lots of shoppers who find in crafts that the artist’s personal touch renders their creation a one-of-akind item. It is generally customary for artisans to organise themselves and arrange weekend fairs that attract local residents and tourists. Besides displaying affordable artistry on stands, they always offer live music and homemade food , cakes and pastries to enthuse and tempt visitors even more. In some cities the local craft fair is one of the most important hang-outs that nobody wants to miss out on. Dolls, candles and silver jewellery have been produced for some time, but the item that steals the show now is craft beer, which people take to like ducks to water after they try complimentary samples offered by the producers. There is no denying it: our craft culture has long made a start and it is thriving so much that it seems determined to stay.
Adrian Insaubralde, Santa Fe
A
LULA VICTORY
Though most of my friends and acquaintances disagreed with me, between the two candidates (both of which I didn’t enjoy) I hoped Lula would come out on top. The reason for this is that I include Bolsonaro in the troupe of Trump, Le Pen, Orban and their similars, all of which have an authoritarian mentality which goes against my feelings.
As regards Lula, the corruption charges, which have never really been lifted, are definitely worrisome, but at no moment do I fear that he endangers democracy and republicanism in Brazil because he has never shown an authoritarian vein. In any case, its Congress has presently a rightist majority which will impede him from carrying the country into an extreme left.
But of course there are many of my political colleagues who are anti-lula because he is adored by the Kirchneristas, and he visibly shows friendship towards them. I prefer to see a bit further than these and consider that the man will need considerable support from the Western powers, something which will force him to act more like a social democrat, which, in essence, I believe he is by now, at the age of nearly 78.
Worried as I am about the regimes in Venezuela, Cuba, Nicaragua and now also in Colombia (Chile’s Boric so far has maintained his antagonism to the dictatorships), I do not see him trying to take Brazil down the same road and very much feel that the Kirchneristas are in for a tremendous disappointment!
As for us, here in Argentina, we are clearly seeing the beginning of a political realignment, in which the terms left and right will be replaced by corporatism versus freedom. So, if you are a lover of democracy, fervently back the right people, “because it’s the Republic, dammit”! Harry Ingham,
City
ROTTEN APPLES...
Among the myriad of “things” that this lousy administration hasn’t offered us Argentines, good examples is the most outstanding one. To mention just a few: Fabiola’s birthday party in Olivos in the midst of the strict pandemic lockout; Victoria Donda, president of the National Institute Against Discrimination, Xenophobia and Racism (INADI), and her unregistered cleaning woman (“empleada en negro”); Carlos Heller, member of the Chamber of Deputies, interrupting the budget debate saying that he was leaving and would be back after watching Boca’s football match; another deputy, Marcelo Casaretto, caught red-handed watching a basketball match in the same context and offering no apologies.
They set the worst possible examples. These rotten apples, and many others, have spoilt the barrel. A fish rots from the head down, doesn’t it?
Irene Bianchi, Ringuelet, La Plata
BATTLE OF THE BULGE: PART 219
Dear Sirs,
Bolsonaro almost achieved a spectacular victory last Sunday in Brazil, but fell just sort of the 52:48 upset forecast by this scribe. In actual fact, Lula ran out 51:49, instead. It may be all for the best, and democracy must triumph, after all. Rule of law, also.
Uncle Albert was quick to hop up to São Paulo to congratulate the victor and hope his luck rubs off onto him. He is now, somewhat belatedly, flexing his muscles and intimating that he will run for reelection next year. Whether this meets with the approval of the sinuous and enigmatic Veep is a moot point. So far, both she and her main arch-rival, former president Macri, are playing hard to get. Meanwhile, their underlings are waging internecine warfare as they jockey for position, to beat the band. Droll
Inflation? Very nice, thank you. No let up in sight. Seven percent per month is about par for the course this year. Hang on, tight.
David Parsons, via email