By: Daniel Nardini
Nicaragua is holding presidential elections. There are three main candidates who will be running. They are Daniel Ortega (the current President of Nicaragua), Fabio Gadea (a well known radio personality), and former president Arnoldo Aleman (before Ortega). Forget the fact that by the Nicaraguan Constitution that does not allow Ortega to run for a second term, Ortega is running. And he looks like an almost certain shoo in. Forget the fact that under his presidency human and civil rights in Nicaragua have taken a beating, and people are now being jailed for their political and even religious viewpoints. If anything Ortega is more liked by not only the majority of Nicaraguans but also by big and small business. And Ortega now can count on oil money coming from Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez to help his presidential campaign.
You may ask how Ortega, the former Sandinista president of revolutionary Nicaragua in the 1980’s, who nationalized property and tried to set up a Communist state, can now be the darling of business? Because Ortega and the Sandinistas are no fools. They learned from their mistakes in the 1990’s, and had been in fact courting business to convince business people in Nicaragua that the Sandinistas should again hold power. They were given the chance in 2007 when Ortega was elected president in free elections. Strangely enough, Nicaragua’s economy has done well under the Sandinistas. Poverty has dropped from 65 percent to 57 percent. Exports from Nicaragua have more than doubled, and business in Nicaragua has grown five-fold. This means that business is happy, the business people in Nicaragua are happy, corporate business that has invested in Nicaragua is happy, and because of all this the majority of Nicaraguans are happy. The Sandinistas had promised stability and prosperity, and they have delivered.
If anything, most Nicaraguans are afraid of what might happen if Ortega loses the election. This is not without reason. The Sandinistas, who are now the largest party in the country, might resort to violence and intimidation reminiscent of the instability Nicaragua underwent in the 1970’s and 1980’s. There are many Nicaraguans who remember that period, and even if they have misgivings about what the Sandinistas are doing now, most Nicaraguans do not want to go through that period again. What the Sandinistas are doing is attempting a China-style reform of the economy—keep political control but allow for business and people to make money and be able to eat so they will be content. But does this mean that the one thing that is sacrificed is democracy? Many in the opposition think so, but right now many Nicaraguans may feel more content on letting democracy be sacrificed so that the country remains stable.
The Ortega Shadow
By: Daniel Nardini
You may ask how Ortega, the former Sandinista president of revolutionary Nicaragua in the 1980’s, who nationalized property and tried to set up a Communist state, can now be the darling of business? Because Ortega and the Sandinistas are no fools. They learned from their mistakes in the 1990’s, and had been in fact courting business to convince business people in Nicaragua that the Sandinistas should again hold power. They were given the chance in 2007 when Ortega was elected president in free elections. Strangely enough, Nicaragua’s economy has done well under the Sandinistas. Poverty has dropped from 65 percent to 57 percent. Exports from Nicaragua have more than doubled, and business in Nicaragua has grown five-fold. This means that business is happy, the business people in Nicaragua are happy, corporate business that has invested in Nicaragua is happy, and because of all this the majority of Nicaraguans are happy. The Sandinistas had promised stability and prosperity, and they have delivered.
If anything, most Nicaraguans are afraid of what might happen if Ortega loses the election. This is not without reason. The Sandinistas, who are now the largest party in the country, might resort to violence and intimidation reminiscent of the instability Nicaragua underwent in the 1970’s and 1980’s. There are many Nicaraguans who remember that period, and even if they have misgivings about what the Sandinistas are doing now, most Nicaraguans do not want to go through that period again. What the Sandinistas are doing is attempting a China-style reform of the economy—keep political control but allow for business and people to make money and be able to eat so they will be content. But does this mean that the one thing that is sacrificed is democracy? Many in the opposition think so, but right now many Nicaraguans may feel more content on letting democracy be sacrificed so that the country remains stable.