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Latino Media Ask: Who Is the Real Daniel Ortega?
Spanish-language media in the U.S. and Nicaragua are asking whether former Sandinista rebel and newly elected Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega is really a new man, or if his new image is just a mirage. Elena Shore writes and monitors Spanish-language media for New America Media. Peter Micek contributed to this report.
SAN FRANCISCO--Nicaraguan and U.S. Spanish-language media closely followed the Nov. 5 presidential election victory of former Sandinista leader Daniel Ortega. But they aren't sure which Ortega to expect: the old rebel leader or the image of a new, more moderate politician he has presented in recent months.
Although he is a well-known historic figure and symbol of the Sandinista Revolution of the 1980s, the present-day Ortega seems to be "an unknown," the Los Angeles-based La Opinión reported on Nov. 4. "The price (of his victory) seems to be his conversion from a revolutionary leader into a simple politician who wants to be elected at any cost," according to La Opinión, the largest Spanish-language paper in the United States.
Daniel Ortega Saavedra was one of the leaders of the Sandinista rebels, who ousted right-wing dictator Anastasio Somoza in July 1979 and established a leftist regime in Nicaragua. During the 1980s, Ortega led the Sandinistas in a long and bloody civil war against the U.S.-backed Contras. Ortega was elected president in 1984 and was president of Nicaragua from 1985 to 1990.
In the United States, the Sandinista leader continues to be "the ogre of the past Cold War," La Opinión reports, but in Nicaragua, he has remade his image.
Ortega's "turn to the right," according to La Opinión, is evident in his political pact six years ago with former president Arnoldo Alemán, his old political adversary who is now under house arrest for corruption.
In 2000, then-president Alemán developed a strategic alliance with Ortega and lowered the threshold a candidate needed to win outright from 45 percent to 40 percent, or 35 percent if the winner held at least a five-point lead. This was the first election in which the new rules applied, according to Managua's La Prensa newspaper. With 91 percent of the votes counted on Tuesday, Ortega won with 38 percent of the vote and a nine-point lead.
La Opinión also cites Ortega's newfound alliance with the Catholic Church as evidence of his rightward tilt. Ortega took a public stance against abortion, backing Nicaragua's Oct. 26 ban of all abortions, including cases where the fetus was a product of rape or where the mother's health was at risk.
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http://news.newamericamedia.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=b10da43a64216cd95b175c6e04720af7
Although he is a well-known historic figure and symbol of the Sandinista Revolution of the 1980s, the present-day Ortega seems to be "an unknown," the Los Angeles-based La Opinión reported on Nov. 4. "The price (of his victory) seems to be his conversion from a revolutionary leader into a simple politician who wants to be elected at any cost," according to La Opinión, the largest Spanish-language paper in the United States.
Daniel Ortega Saavedra was one of the leaders of the Sandinista rebels, who ousted right-wing dictator Anastasio Somoza in July 1979 and established a leftist regime in Nicaragua. During the 1980s, Ortega led the Sandinistas in a long and bloody civil war against the U.S.-backed Contras. Ortega was elected president in 1984 and was president of Nicaragua from 1985 to 1990.
In the United States, the Sandinista leader continues to be "the ogre of the past Cold War," La Opinión reports, but in Nicaragua, he has remade his image.
Ortega's "turn to the right," according to La Opinión, is evident in his political pact six years ago with former president Arnoldo Alemán, his old political adversary who is now under house arrest for corruption.
In 2000, then-president Alemán developed a strategic alliance with Ortega and lowered the threshold a candidate needed to win outright from 45 percent to 40 percent, or 35 percent if the winner held at least a five-point lead. This was the first election in which the new rules applied, according to Managua's La Prensa newspaper. With 91 percent of the votes counted on Tuesday, Ortega won with 38 percent of the vote and a nine-point lead.
La Opinión also cites Ortega's newfound alliance with the Catholic Church as evidence of his rightward tilt. Ortega took a public stance against abortion, backing Nicaragua's Oct. 26 ban of all abortions, including cases where the fetus was a product of rape or where the mother's health was at risk.
More
http://news.newamericamedia.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=b10da43a64216cd95b175c6e04720af7
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