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Sandanistas Return to Presidency in Nicaragua

Posted by Benjamin Melançon - November 9, 2006 at 2:14 pm
Mark Engler has a short article on The Return of Daniel Ortega in TheNation.com.

He captures perhaps the most important point, which is that the people of Nicaragua faced down the very potent threats of the United States to reject the right-wing rule that has pushed the Central American country deeper and deeper into poverty.

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Student-on-hold, ex-stocker and failed union agitator, ex-white-collar consultant and now co-founder and developer at Agaric Design Collective, making web sites with open source free software.

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Comments

Returning Ortega to power

Submitted November 15, 2006 - 3:43 pm by Nick Cooper
Ortega just before the election supported a new law banning abortion in cases where the pregnancy endangers the mother’s life. Immediately after the election, he explained that his government would not make 'dramatic or radical changes' to economic policy. His vice-president is a contra. Returning Ortega to power is not a challenge to "the right-wing rule that has pushed the Central American country deeper and deeper into poverty," although it has been described here and elsewhere as such.

Within the Sandanista movement, as within most hierarchical movements, the crap rises to the top. Many suffered and died to implement the experiment that was Sandanismo, which was an essential precursor to the Zapatistas. The idea of smiling about Ortega winning now would be like smiling over David Horowitz winning the activist of the year award. Ortega was never that cool and now it appears to me that he's ready to join the most notorious of those looting this planet.

The Alianza Movimiento de Renovación Sandinista (MRS) now includes some interesting Sandanistas, and is appears legitimately leftist. But, as far as I can tell, Ortega's party has nothing to do with Sandanista ideals anymore, though he still uses the name.

More John Kerry than David Horowitz

Submitted November 20, 2006 - 4:44 pm by Sean Donahue
I see the situation as a bit more complex -- Daniel Ortega definetly doens't represent the true spirit of the Sandinismo -- his position on abortion is reprhensible and his refusal to challenge the IMF, the World Bank, and the Inter American Development Bank is unforgivable and will prevent him from being able to implement any real change.  

At the same time, I know that just as many poor people and people of color in the U.S. support the Democrats because they believe that the marginal difference the not-quite-as-fascist party will make may mean real and concrete changes in their lives, many poor Nicaraguans, including dedicated FLSN militants, voted for Ortega as the lesser of two evils/evil of two lessers.  And I don't really feel in a position to judge that.

I see Daniel Ortega not so as a David Horowitz (former radical turned neocon who now condemns everything he once stood for) but as a John Kerry (former poster boy for a movement far more radical and legitimate than he ever was or will be turned wishy washy liberal who coopts popular movements, benefiting from a wave of resentment against his far more evil opponent.)

And I do take some encouragement from the fact that Nicaraguans were unbowed by U.S. threats including the possible loss of the remittances from Nicaraguans in the U.S. that most families depend on to survive. (Rep. Dana Rohrbacher of California publicly called on the Bush administration to ban remittances to Nicaragua in the event of a Sandinista victory.)

Ortega's Agenda

Submitted November 21, 2006 - 1:10 pm by Christopher Hyde
Perhaps we should take a wait-and-see attitude about the once-and-future president of Nicaragua. Politicians have been known to say things that they don't mean in hopes of improving their chances at the polls. It even happens here in the US! Anyone that Ollie North and Bush II hate so much can't be all bad.

On an unrelated subject, consider the wood and fiberglass submarine intercepted off the coat of Costa Rica, doing 7 knots under its PVC snorkels. Bravo! Instead of jailing its crew, they should be given medals and asked to tell our navy how to build ships on a bake-sale budget. How come the WTO doesn't reward this kind of entrepreneurship? And one of them was from Sri Lanka-- talk about globalism!

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