He denies having had a hand in the series. In the early 1980s, Belli fled the Sandinista-ruled Nicaragua and lived in exile in the United States. In 1982, he founded the Puebla Institute, a human-rights organization dedicated to defending religious liberty. On a 1989 visit to his homeland, Belli offered his help in rebuilding the nation's education system, eventually being named education minister in 1991. However, he inherited a system in such physical decay that many schools were beyond repair and a curriculum steeped in political propaganda.
Education is concerned with transforming young people into mature, value-oriented adults.
Now, as minister of the family, Belli will oversee several social-assistance ministries that benefit the poor, children, women, the elderly, and the handicapped. Some Nicaraguan Protestants worry that Belli's abrupt departure will doom all religiously oriented offerings in public schools. Johnson says the Catholic staff at her children's school respect the family's evangelical beliefs. While her children attend Catholic religion classes, they are not forced to attend mass. She believes most evangelicals are not worried about plots to indoctrinate students.