The end of year means the end of a cycle for most of the persons. It is an epoch to look backwards and to analyze what we have achieved and that one in what we remain short. It is like that, not only in the personal thing but also like country. I am sure that the majority agrees in that 2008 was a difficult year, but he is perhaps one of the easiest to sum up. With the good thing and the bad thing, definitely it will have a special chapter in the history books.

The most important event was without a doubt the presidential election in the United States and I will treat about it in a moment, but first I want to sum up part of other histories that holders did.

After almost 50 years in the power the Cuban dictator Fidel Castro resigned from his charge and such an early fall of the communist government did not materialize. The Marxist diet will celebrate his fifth decade in the power with another Castro in the rudder, Raúl, the youngest brother of Fidel.

After decades of a bloody civil war in Colombia, three of the principal leaders of the guerrilla leftist group of the FARC died. Several political hostages were liberated in Colombia, including to the presidential ex-candidate Ingrid Betancourt and three North American contractors. Betancourt now fights for the freedom of another 700 hostages more and promises that this will be their last Christmas in captivity.

It was a bad year for Mexico. The war that the government frees against the drug trafficking threw like turned out a record number of deaths. More than 5.000 persons were murdered in the country in the first 11 months of the year, more of the double that last year. The hopes that the new government was solving the problem stayed in veremos. The Mexicans still live like hostages in their own houses.
The war in Iraq came to his fifth year. The Pope Benedicto XVI did his first visit to the United States and apologized before the sexual abuse victims on the part of catholic priests. And the terrorism showed his rash hand in the city India of Bombay.

The world economic crisis led to the fall of big financial institutions that seemed to be solid, and like result, both companies and individuals have lost million dollars. Thousands of persons have lost his houses and his works and they will begin the new year under a suspense veil.

But the event of 2008 that probably will be more remembered is the presidential election in the United States. The electoral process was like no other. Yes, it culminated with the election of the first African American like president, but there is much more that it has done history.
Hillary Clinton was the woman first in coming so close to being the nominated one of his party to the presidency, demonstrating not only that a woman can break barriers and remain strong under the most adverse circumstances, but also that the experience of the first ex-lady in the White House can take more weight of the one that had never imagined.

The impact that Sarah Palin had in the presidential election is especially worth of mention. I have here like a practically extracted woman of the anonymity it was put in the political candlestick shaking the theory on the attributes that a candidate for the vicepresidency must have. She did history not only for being a woman ultra conservative, mother of five children, one of them with special needs and the first one in being in the Republican ballot for the vicepresidency, but also because his candidacy demonstrated that it needs more than a good profile to be to a sigh of the presidency. There is not doubt that we have not heard the last of Sarah Palin, she wants to return to do history again.

This year will be remembered by one of the most divisive and hard presidential campaigns. The mass media showed the power that they have to influence the public opinion and escrudiñar the lies and a half truths that they say in campaign. For his part John McCain demonstrated that an honest man can fight against everything to his scope to achieve his target and to be humble at the time of the defeat.

And of course we have to mention that the elect president Barack Obama raised the level of how it is necessary to handle a presidential campaign, not only using the most advanced marketing skills but staying stable, serene and focused in his message. Obama did history, what is still for see is if it will change the course of the history.

(c) 2008 by Maria Helen Salinas.