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argentina: elecciones primarias 2011

Argentina, elección primaria, boletas

Something new on the political front: for the first time, primary elections will be held in Argentina. As the video below explains, official candidates for each political party (or the new term, agrupación política) were formerly chosen through internal party elections, conferences or merely appointed by party leaders. The idea that everyone has a chance to participate in internal party affairs seems like a good idea… but it all depends on how the system is used.

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buenos aires: subway tiles

Buenos Aires, subte, subway, tiles, azulejos, Línea D, Estación Catedral

Several blogs exist which discuss current events related to the Buenos Aires subte (ongoing construction, union & concession problems, maintenance, etc.), but someone could easily dedicate an entire blog to the system’s tilework. A few years ago, I almost put together a guided tour of the subway just to showcase the variety, artistry, originality & modern interventions being taken underground in BA. This post is a taste of that, along with some personal favorites.

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buenos aires: subway my way

Buenos Aires, subte

[Digging through the archives again… originally published as “subway my way” on 11 Aug 2007. Was that really 4 years ago?? As always, I’ve updated a few items to reflect changes since then.]

There may not be much anyone can do about the slow pace of subway construction in Buenos Aires, but how we visualize the network can be easily improved. The firm Diseño Shakespear came up with the subte map used for most of the 00’s. With a black background, it was like some early-80’s vision of BsAs… a bit scary & not particularly useful:

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buenos aires: visiting the casa rosada

Buenos Aires, Casa Rosada

Buenos Aires has its share of iconic buildings & ranking near the top of the list would be the Casa de Gobierno, more popularly known as the Casa Rosada. Let’s just say it: either you like pink or you don’t… not much room for middle ground. In a previous incarnation of this blog, I chronicled the restoration of the building & will have to repost that info later. For now, suffice it to say that the Casa Rosada got a new coat of paint & a lot interior work during Kirchner’s term. For a fascinating & detailed look at the architectural history of the building, Pablo Juan Chiesa has done an amazing amount of research (in Spanish).

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buenos aires: election results 2011

Buenos Aires, elections 2011, mesas

Congrats to Mauricio Macri. The fight isn’t over yet, but Macri definitely won the first round with 47% of the vote… almost the 50% needed for a definitive win. That means a runoff will take place on 31 Jul between Macri & the second-place candidate, Daniel Filmus. Filmus received almost 28% of the vote with Pino Solanas coming in third with a respectable 13%. Not bad for a relatively new political party.

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