In case you didn’t think this blog celebrates democracy…

If you’re a regular visitor you know that this blog does not share in the general celebrations around the flowering of ‘democracy’ in the Israel-Occupied Palestinian Territories, nor in Lebanon, nor in Iraq, nor in Haiti, nor even in the Ukraine. Nor is this a place where the US is held up as the model of democracy.

But that’s not to say that I think the idea of democracy itself is a sham. Far from it. Indeed today I received some news I consider to be good for the flowering of democracy. A communication from the Association of Indigenous Councils of Northern Cauca, who have spent the past few weeks preparing a popular consultation on Colombia’s bilateral free trade agreement with the US. The idea is that Cauca can serve as an example for the whole country, and a popular consultation could take place like the one that occurred in Brazil a few years ago when 10 million voted against the FTAA.

The vote took place today. The brief communique reads as follows:

“The response of the urban, mestizo, and indigenous communities to the invitation to popular consultation has been a success. In the communities, there are dances, celebrations, and many other expressions of life to be shared among the people and with the rest of the world. The voting closed at 4pm in complete normality and at the time the observers began the counting of the votes. Tomorrow the councils will hold a press conference at 11am. Communication groups are ready to receive reports in the municipalities and send them to contacts nationally and internationally.” Early indications are that participation in the vote has been massive.