I would like to go back to the presidential election days in Nicaragua that happened in the month of November 2011. This marks an important day for Daniel Ortega who is running for president for the third time, disregarding the laws of the Nicaraguan constitution. This sparked anger and protests across Nicaragua. How has Ortega become such an important figure in Nicaragua? Thirty years ago, when the during the Sandinista Revolution, Ortega’s charismatic leadership gained him reputation. He was going against the dictatorship of Somaza and against the US backed Contras. He eventually won the revolution and became president from 1985-1990. After losing from 1996-2001, he won presidency again in 2006. Through different advertising strategies, he was able to run for presidency again in 2011 and he won through controversial and unjust means.
Hugo Chavez and Daniel Ortega support each other through financial and economic means.
Why is this important in the business sector of Nicaragua? Nicaragua was a democratic nation having US support and connections with other democratic nations. However, with Ortega, he changed the Nicaraguan government to a socialist nation, backlashing the United States, and therefore limiting international aid by the United States.
Instead, Ortega began to receive aid from other socialist countries such as Venezuela. What is bad about this is that Nicaragua is becoming more and more reliant towards Venezuela and Cuba. According to the top economic advisor of Nicaragua, Nicaragua would have been in a serious economic recession if it wasn’t for the financial aid sent by Hugo Chavez. In reality, Ortega is hurting the economy because he is receiving monetary aid from very little sources and the overall economy hasn’t improved by a noticeable amount.
Nicaragua’s economy has been progressing at a stable rate due to Ortega’s charismatic leadership and his ability to target and support the largely poor population. However, for how long can Ortega receive support from Venezuela and Cuba?
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