Thursday, March 28, 2024

Logo Central America Link

Analysis: Elections in Guatemala and Nicaragua are Reagan-era redux, with a twist. Roles are reversed

Tuesday, November 8, 2011


The results of presidential elections in Nicaragua and Guatemala on Sunday -- won, respectively, by a leftist revolutionary and a right-wing military man -- could almost lead one to think we’re back in the Reagan era.

Well, yes and no. Some of the characters are the same, but the roles are reversed. Former liberators are turning into tyrants; once-threatening militaries have become potential rescuers.

In Nicaragua, Daniel Ortega, the Sandinista National Liberation Front leader who helped topple the Somoza regime three decades ago, was overwhelmingly elected to his second consecutive and third overall term as president. It was a neat trick, given that the constitution limits presidents to two nonconsecutive terms.

Original source: Bloomberg