A little background on Nicaraguan politics. Daniel Ortega is the President; the Sandinista de Liberation Front (FSLN) is the ruling party. This is Ortega’s second term as President; his first term was from 1985-90. His first term as President was characterized by acontrovertial program of land reform and wealth distribution, hostility from the United States, and armed rebellion by the U.S. backed Contras.
President Ortega won the national election with 38% of the vote in November 2006. Ortega has developed a pact with Arnaldo Aleman of the Liberal Constitutional Party (PLC). This pact developed to solidify control over all major institutions in Nicaragua. The relationship between Ortega and Aleman is personal and about political and economic power for them and their families; their alliance accomplishes both even though their political ideologies do not align.
Nicaragua has a unicameral National Assembly consisting of 92 members serving five year terms and representing over a dozen parties. Two political parties, the Conservative Party (PC) and the Sandinista Renovation Movement (MRS) were abolished in May 2008 by the Supreme Electoral Council under the current administration. We had an opportunity to meet with leaders in both of these parties.
