Crisis in Nicaragua
Contrary to what is often reported, the Nicaraguan crisis isn't about the left. It's hardly about being "Sandinista," a term that means very little anymore. It's not even really about the location of Nicaraguan opposition lawmakers (who met in a Holiday Inn rather than the National Assembly) which is a proximate rather than a distal cause.
It is more mundane, about the bitter fight over spoils in a very poor country. The piñata in 1990 and the pacto in the last decade transcend ideology and center instead on money and power. As one critic called it, "From Somocismo without Somoza to Somocismo with Ortega."
The government says it is no big deal and that "the people" are simply demanding that the legislators meet in the National Assembly. It adds that the OAS should butt out because everything is perfectly in hand. Nothing to see here.
Hopefully there is a peaceful solution in the short term. In the longer term, Nicaraguans deserve to escape the cycles of kleptocracy under which they've suffered.
4 comments:
Totally agree with you, Greg. It'll be interesting to see whether Insulza "butts out" or not...
well, interesting to see the FSLN had a document explaining its strategy that was leaked out (apparently from inside the party - and published by El Nuevo Diario - a formerly pro-Sandinista daily.
Daniel Ortega has always and pretty much only had Daniel Ortega as his core beliefs.
Pretty interesting comparing the media and OAS reaction to Ortegas actions - with the little attention given to what Evo did a couple of years ago.
Evo locked out the opposition assembly members help from pro-government mobs and got approval of the new Constitution.
Then using a similar tactic he locked out the opposition in congress to get it approved. Oh, and in the meantime he effectively shut down the Supreme Court, by starting political trials against all the judges till they all quit.
Evo basically set up the conditions to re-shape the Bolivian government without a peep, but now Ortega is slammed visibly for doing something less drastic.
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