Juan Carlos,

Thanks for the post. I know you are a Libertarian (100% is the only kind there is), and I agree the battle was over control.

With regard to Marta Angulo, she is a "gut" libertarian. As you say, there is more to being a Libertarian than reading Ayn Rand. Marta's heart is in the right place, and if there was a guarentee mechanism, I would not be worried about her being there. As it stands, I do not think she will be elected, but that we will see in February.

There are other candidates whose hearts are not in the right place. These I worry about a great deal.

An item that should worry every Libertarian is that Otto said 70% libertarian was acceptable in candidates. Does this means the party (you) will accept a candidate that will raise taxes as long as they vote correctly in other areas? How about denying marriage to homosexuals, as one of the current Diputados has proposed? Maybe it is OK to support 30% of the state monopolies, as long as they oppose the rest?

As far as Otto supporting candidates that openly opposed his other choices, that is not my recollection. He supported one candidate, who, after she was selected, went against his choice. She did not openly support anyone before she was selected.

Serious errors in judgement were made by the ideologues, Raúl included. This is what happens when emotions replace reason in decision making. This does not mean that Raúl's basic thinking was incorrect.

As far as the party being alive and well, that remains to be seen. You probably know better than I do about many of the fights that are coming. Both sides are now fueled by hatred. I do not think that the party can survive the internal battle, a great part of which will be fought in media. However there is only one determining factor, and that is the election. We will see what the people decide in February.

I personally wish you the best.

--jorge