On Saturday, December 16th, 2011, I was invited to attend a chocoletada – an event where you drink a warm milk chocolate drink and eat panetón, a take-off of the Italian fruit bread panettone that is very popular in Peru for Christmas. But this chocoletada was not like any other – it was a way to earn votes. The next municipal elections are not until 2014, but one of my ex-colleagues at EMAPA Huacho is already trying to win as many votes as he can in order to become the next mayor of Santa María, a district next to Huacho. And one of the ways he wanted to achieve this was by organizing a free chocoletada in one of the poorest neighbourhoods in town.
His friends were asked to come along and help make the event run smoothly. There was music and a kid’s show, followed by the distribution of hot chocolate and panetón. While everyone was busy enjoying their treat, the candidate mayor made speeches and brought up people from the community to talk. But instead of talking about the holiday season, the talk was about how the community still has no water or waste water and thus uses communal latrines, and how if he is elected, he will change this. There were testimonies from elders in the community talking about difficulties and struggles that they face. It just goes to show that no matter what event you are attending, politics always seems to be brought into the mix here.
Finally came the main attraction of the night: free Christmas presents for all of the children present (or at least those whose parents had come earlier in the day to get a coupon that they could trade in for a gift). One line for boys, another line for girls, and lots of anxious little faces. And I almost feel like the Grinch for saying this, but as I watched the kids grabbing for free toys, all I could think about was poor development practices that I have been studying for the past four years at university. What are these children learning? That once a year someone will come and give them food and toys for free to try to win over their parents’ votes? That around Christmastime everyone needs to receive presents? I also saw some Caucasians distributing free gifts in the main square in Cuzco on Christmas Day, and I could not help but think that these actions are not beneficial: sure, you might light up a child’s face for a few moments, but what is the lasting effect?
I brought up my concerns and discomfort at the whole event with my supervisor at EMAPA, Juan, who was also present at the chocoletada. I have been able to talk to him about many subjects, and he always listens and gives me valuable feedback. He agreed that it was not the best thing to do: why not instead work on small business development and help the people in the community make their own gifts, or have them contribute something of theirs to this Christmas event? But then it would come back to this: without this generosity, these children might not receive anything for Christmas. Isn’t the message that we try to spread that it is better to give than to receive?
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