by friendlyskies » Tue Aug 02, 2011 3:55 pm
Oh, I'd probably vote for President Ortega in the November elections, if I was Nicaraguan. Not because he's ushered in a utopian paradise of dictatorship by the proletariat or anything like that. He's pretty much a caudillo, but you can't compare him to the Somozas. That's like comparing Malcolm X to Idi Amin because they're both historical black leaders. Ortega's done a good job. Just seeing the difference in the RAAN - which was Contra territory - under Daniel compared to during the reign of PLC (right wingers) is amazing. Clinics, electricity, sewage systems, even internet in the schools. Internet is the great educational equalizer. And in the developed part of the country, like Granada? Oh man, since he came to power, it's just been reliable electricity, potable water, and health clinics popping up all over the place.
I'm not the only one thinking like that - a recent poll by La Prensa (usually super anti-Daniel) gives him a major lead with 57%, they don't even need to fix the elections this time. I'm sure they will, of course. But they don't need to. It's not that Daniel is this perfect boomer guy who lived up to every hippy revolutionary idea, you know? Quite the opposite, he's a realist. The reason people would vote for him (other than the fact that his competition is worse) is that he's been in the game long enough to keep Nicaragua on track to becoming a normal third world country, which is a bigger challenge then most people realize. He has connections.
"4 cylinder Camaro=communism" El Presidente
"You can smoke salmon but it's not quite the same as smoking heroin." nanuq