(Image Source: La Radio del Sur)

BY JIM FLINK

ANCHOR MEGAN MURPHY

He was, at one time, America’s public-enemy number one in the Western Hemisphere. Now, Nicaragua’s Daniel Ortega sits primed for re-election. Again.

Ortega is currently leading polling heading into Nicaragua’s general elections Sunday. The Presidency is up for grabs, along with 90 Congressional Seats and another 20 in the Central American Parliament. While Ortega is casting himself as a populist, his historic anti-American rhetoric and positions are still a thorn in the side of U.S. foreign policy. (Video: Univision)

The Guardian explains the history.

“He was the brilliant military strategist who helped lead Nicaragua's Sandinista rebels to victory, inspiring a generation of leftwingers with his revolutionary government's literacy programmes and land reforms – and his defiance of the United States and CIA-backed 'contra' counter-revolutionaries.”

That he is even on the ballot is a controversy in itself. Ortega has worked around constitutional term limits. According to the New York Times....

“Mr. Ortega … has flourished as a paradox, a heavy-handed commander who is widely criticized for skirting the democratic process but is known on the streets as the people’s president. He has found support from powerful players on all sides...”

The BBC notes Mr. Ortega is even favored by some in the business community which once so staunchly opposed him.

“The opposition's silver bullet against Mr Ortega in the past has been Nicaraguans' fear of war, communism, international isolation and economic ruin. But since Mr Ortega returned to power five years ago, the economy has grown steadily, exports have doubled and foreign direct investment has grown nearly fivefold.” 

But The Wall Street Journal remains skeptical about the rosy economic picture.

“It is widely believed that, as president for the past five years, Mr. Ortega has used his executive office and alliance with Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chávez to advance his business interests and those of his party.”

The Washington Post wonders why anyone really cares, saying Nicaragua has little impact on the region.

“But why care? Nicaragua is, after Haiti, the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. Its gross domestic product of $6.5 billion is less than ExxonMobil’s quarterly profits. Militarily weak and with a history of chaotic politics, the country is of scant economic or geopolitical importance to the United States, or to anyone else. It threatens no one.”