i
- A man called Maljo (later nicknamed Statics) hires Philoctete to help with his political campaign.
- Maljo hires Hector and his van, a.k.a. the Comet, to take him stumping through the districts. Unrelated, we think the Comet is an excellent name for a vehicle. Just sayin'…
- Statics thinks of himself as a man who will speak for the poorest and most oppressed people, since he is himself a fisherman/mechanic.
ii
- Statics gets the hang of campaigning, learning to walk the walk and talk the talk of a politician, and handing out pamphlets and lollipops.
- He tells people that the "progress" that has come to the island only exploits the people—it doesn't make them any better off than before.
- As they travel around the island, Philoctete wonders why the people can't just love the island wholeheartedly like he does.
iii
- Statics and Philoctete prepare for a campaign "blocko," which is an American-style celebration to rally support.
- But it gets rained out and ruins Statics's political aspirations, so he leaves to become a migrant worker in Florida.