Reply #2: Nicaraguans Disheartened with Country’s Situation [View All]

[Judi Lynn]

August 20, 2005
Nicaraguans Disheartened with Country’s Situation

(Angus Reid Global Scan) – Many adults in Nicaragua believe their nation is going through one of its worst phases in decades, according to a poll by CID-Gallup. 56 per cent of respondents believe the current situation of the Central American country is worse than 25 years ago.

In 1979, the dictatorship of Anastasio Somoza Debayle came to an end. The Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN)—which was originally assembled in the 1960s as an armed group that opposed the dictatorial regimes of the Somoza family—formed a transitional administration and later won a mandate in the 1984 presidential and legislative elections.

Nicaragua’s political scene has been unstable since current president Enrique Bolaños lost the support of the Constitutionalist Liberal Party (PLC) in January 2002, when his government decided to take legal action against former president Arnoldo Alemán. Last year, Alemán—who governed the country from 1997 to 2002—was sentenced to 20 years in prison for fraud, money laundering and embezzlement.

Earlier this month, a National Assembly special commission recommended removing Bolaños’ immunity for alleged electoral offences. Lawmaker Orlando Tardencilla said the commission "corroborated the existence of bank accounts under the name of Enrique Bolaños that were not reported to the electoral commission."
(snip/...)

http://www.angus-reid.com/polls/index.cfm/fuseaction/viewItem/itemID/8591

http://www.presidencia.gob.ni/Presidencia/Files_index/Secretaria/Notas%20de%20Prensa/Presidente/2003/FOTOS/noviembre/Bush%20Bolanos_condecoracion,%2006nov.jpg


President George W. Bush explains the history of his desk during a meeting with Central American presidents
in the Oval Office Thursday, April 10, 2003. From left, they are, Presidents Francisco Flores of El Salvador,
Ricardo Maduro of Honduras, Abel Pacheco of Costa Rica, Enrique Bolanos of Nicaragua, and Alfonso
Portillo of Guatemala. White House photo by Paul Morse.

Enrique Bolaños very popular with the entire _Bush family, apparently.