ELECTIONS AND VOCABULARY
Spain has undergone elections recently, on the 28th of May, and as for every time there is a season and a time for every matter under heaven, to paraphrase the Bible, every election has its vocabulary. As you probably know by now, Spaniards love repetition, and phrases were used and overused by the media. "Ejercer el derecho al voto." People did not go to vote, no iban a votar sino a ejercer el derecho al voto . "Votar en libertad." This cliché is difficult to understand because if you are not free to vote then, what´s the point? Lo importante es votar en libertad was repeated often. "Consolidar la democracia." People did not vote in order to support a candidate but, according to the media, to reinforce democracy. Another cliché. "Lo importante es votar" was repeated ad nauseam by all tv announcers and also by those who were interviewed. And finally, "la votación discurre con total normalidad." This cliché is hard to understand. Did th...