Newsgroup: it.politica.internazionale
Titolo: meraviglie del sandinismo

A Violent Sandinista Power Play in Nicaragua
By Tim Rogers / Managua
In a country where the terms "crisis" and "bad governance" are 
synonymous with politics, Nicaragua is no stranger to near-catastrophic 
brinksmanship by power-crazed caudillos. But even by Nicaraguan 
standards, the latest political crisis caused by President Daniel 
Ortega's push to extend his time in office has kicked the country's 
tinny democracy precariously close to calamity.
Unlike past battles between Ortega's Sandinista Front and opposition 
forces — tribal skirmishes that were mostly self-contained and had a 
sporting feel to them — this time the fight has been mostly one-sided 
and has caused collateral damage. On Tuesday, a mob of several hundred 
Sandinista thugs, armed with hand-held mortars, fired homemade 
fragmentation bombs at Managua's Holiday Inn Select hotel. Inside the 
building, opposition lawmakers — whose various parties form the majority 
in the legislature but are rarely in agreement — were discussing how to 
counter Ortega's attempt to reelect his cronies, and eventually himself. 
(Celebrating the holidays, Sandinista-style.)
The congressional session, which Ortega's ruling party claims was 
illegal, was held inside the Holiday Inn so lawmakers could avoid the 
Sandinista mobs gathered outside the National Assembly. But when the 
Sandinistas discovered that the opposition had pulled a fast one by 
convening elsewhere, they marched to the Holiday Inn and unleashed their 
fury on the hotel. The group fired explosives off the front of the 
building, shattering windows, destroying part of the roof and terrifying 
guests. Riot police prevented the mob from storming the lobby, but made 
no arrests or attempts to stop the attack. (See the rebirth of Daniel 
Ortega.)
"This is the first time anywhere in the world that a hotel has been 
attacked head-on like this," said Holiday Inn general manager Jose 
Enrique Solorzano. He estimates the damage at $20,000, plus another 
$20,000 in lost revenue due to canceled events and reservations. 
Tourists lodged at the hotel at the time of the attack fled out the back 
door clutching their suitcases and small children. The 
Nicaraguan-American Chamber of Commerce (AMCHAM) was quick to denounce 
the attack as an act of "terrorism" and accused the Sandinistas of 
"gangsterism." The country's leading tourism chamber also expressed 
exasperation, blaming the certain Sandinista elements for "continuously 
destroying the work we have done to improve our international image." 
Even the Organization of American States (OAS) — usually the last one to 
arrive at the party — expressed "profound worry" about the situation in 
Nicaragua and called on political leaders to preserve the country's 
shaky institutions.
At the heart of the crisis is Ortega's effort to remain in power, even 
if it means sacrificing the budding democracy that the Sandinista 
Revolution helped plant 20 years ago. After being voted out of power in 
1990 following a decade of U.S.-sponsored counterrevolutionary war, it 
took Ortega 16 years and three elections to return to the presidency in 
2007. He won with a twiggy victory of 38%, thanks to a divided 
opposition. Upon returning to the presidency, Ortega initially tried to 
make an effort to live up to his slogan of "Reconciliation and National 
Unity." One of Ortega's closest advisers told me the Sandinistas were in 
a "battle for legitimacy," both nationally and internationally.
But others who know Ortega warned even then that his quest for power 
would eventually trump his need for legitimacy. "The principal goal of 
Ortega is stay in power and he is going to do everything possible to do 
so," Ortega's former vice president Sergio Ramirez said in early 2008. 
Ramirez said people who think Ortega will play by the rules and step 
down after his term ends in 2012 are "being a bit innocent."
Then came the game-changer: the 2008 municipal elections, in which the 
Sandinistas were accused of massive vote fraud. After that, Ortega 
became more aggressive and less interested in image. He began to focus 
entirely on his 2011 reelection efforts, despite the constitutional ban 
against it. To make his plan work, Ortega needed to make sure his "dream 
team" government — the same officials who oversaw the 2008 elections — 
remained in key electoral and judicial posts. Sandinista judges on the 
Supreme Court did their part by overturning the constitutional ban 
prohibiting Ortega's reelection. The president rewarded their loyalty by 
passing an executive order allowing them and 23 other top magistrates to 
remain at their posts after their terms expire. The opposition squawked 
in protest.
When two Sandinista Supreme Court magistrates put Ortega's controversial 
decree to test last week by refusing to hand in their gavels, the 
situation came to a head. Instead of packing up their desks after their 
terms expired April 11, Sandinista judges Rafael Solis and Armengo 
Cuadra led a group of several hundred Sandinista supporters in a 
forceful takeover of the court. The mob chased off opposition judges and 
turned the nation's highest tribunal into a kangaroo court. Once the 
Sandinistas committed themselves to force, they took to the streets, 
triggering the current situation of anarchy.
What remains to be seen, says political analyst Cirilo Otero, is whether 
Nicaragua is heading "for a good fight or a bad political agreement." 
The analyst thinks the current crisis will most likely serve as leverage 
for a new power-sharing alliance — or pacto — between Ortega and 
opposition bosses Arnoldo Aleman and Eduardo Montealegre, who so far 
claim there will be no deal.
Regardless of how it ends, the latest crisis has shown that Nicaragua's 
rickety democracy, 20 years in the making, could come down like a Jenga 
tower. Says opposition lawmaker Francisco Aguirre, "Nicaragua's 
experience proves a powerful point, that democracy — once achieved — is 
not irreversible. It must be nurtured, otherwise it will wither when 
under attack."
 
http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1983865,00.html

  
http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1983865,00.html
uh, il Time è antisandinista. Almeno sono coerenti, loro. Tu che ti
eri studiato a memoria Washington Bullets quando eri pischello,
invece....