Comments on: Podemos

By: Cristina Bertrand

Cristina Bertrand — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 15:13:27 +0000

Answering to Erick and Marga.
I am from Spain and NO, we are not shamelessly stealing from Obama, it is the other way around. The first person to use that term as a motto for campaigning and rallies was Chesar Chavez in California. So Obama “took it” (observe I am more polite and I don’t say “steal it”) from Chavez

And NO, none of the Spaniards will recognize the theft. Again, Obama should recognize that Cesar Chavez used it many years before him.

By: Erik R.

Erik R. — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 23:32:15 +0000

Of course three short (2.6 letters each, in English) words aren’t trademarked.

What’s funny is that the conservative folks in the States have credited it to Mr. Ahmadinejad, accusing Barack of stealing it.

Still, though, for someone versed in the world politics of 2008, I can’t help but doubt that the person that suggested it for the Spanish Eurocup team wasn’t aware of its use in the US presidential campaign of 2008.

By: Ray Tibbitts

Ray Tibbitts — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 22:25:35 +0000

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sí_se_puede

I thought it was a Cesar Chavez thing. (I went to High School in California, so of course it’s what I what taught.)

Through my eyes I see it like this: ” Yes, we can.”

*A popular, optimistic mantra during the Great Depression.

*Chavez adopts it as the chant for unionizing farm workers.

*The so called ‘open borders’ crowd continues to keep chanting it, and they get in the public eye, again in the last few years.

*Obama re-adopts it as a theme, and even theme song for this campaign.

Well, no one can really trademark such a simple and common little phrase, but “Podemos” isn’t exactly the same as “Sí Se Puede”, anyways.

Kind of like:
Git-R-Done!
A por ellos!