My mom told me never to gloat but...

after Alvaro Noboa spent $6.9 million in advertising (to Rafael Correa's $2.5 million) and still couldn't buy his way into the presidency, it's really hard not to indulge in some pleasurable gloating.

The Ecuadorian magazine Vistazo calculated that each vote cost Noboa $9.50 while each of Correa's cost $1.65. And Correa still won! Now I'm not an economist, but I know productivity when I see it.

Noboa, who was probably throwing a fit when he got home after the elections, also had to face another humiliating fact. Each time he runs he gets less votes than the time before. In 1998 he got 49% of the vote. In 2002 he went to 45%. In 2006, he was down to 43%. I hope he gets the hint, and does not start stocking up on T-shirts, wheelchairs, and well, those chickens for the 2010 elections.

Until then, I smile when I see this grafitti on one of Quito's walls:

..........."Les teengo bueenaas notiicias...
............todavia me queedan camiseetas."
.................("I have good news...
...................I still have T-shirts leftover.")
..................- - Alvaro Noboa

All I can say is: This country is NOT for sale!