El Pacto entre Ortega y Aleman

Nicaragua offers an extreme example of legislative alliance between two parties. This case is obviously an opportunistic form of cooperation shaped by Ortega (FSLN) and Aleman (PLC) to control Nicaragua’s politics.”The formation of the bipartisan system that has dominated Nicaragua in recent years began in the late 1980s with the development of a conservative electoral opposition to the revolutionary Sandinista movement. However, the solidification of two-party dominance was not orchestrated until 1999, when a cynical political pact, called el Pacto, was brokered between the two leaders. This undemocratic arrangement, which was negotiated by self-serving political elites to the detriment of the electorate, has been continually characterized by corruption and represents a telling blow to free electoral process and legitimate governance.”(source:http://www.coha.org/2006/08/10/the-upcoming-nicaraguan-elections/ ).

 

The pact made in 1999 gave to the two leaders a strong control over around 90% of the legilslature:”The 1999 political pact between Daniel Ortega and Arnoldo Alemán (president from 1996 – 2001 who is now facing 20 years in jail for fraud and embezzlement) is the culmination of years of political venality from which Nicaraguans are clearly trying to escape with the 2006 election. The agreement united their two parties in the National Assembly and gave Ortega and Alemán control over nearly 90 percent of the legislature – granting the unified duo near dictatorial powers over the nation. The leaders used their majority control for the cynical assertion of conclusive influence over many facets of Nicaraguan public life, including the Supreme Court and the Supreme Electoral Council (CSE). [...]The pact also ensured both Ortega and Alemán seats in the national assembly for the next two terms, a position coveted by both men because of the parliamentary immunity that it afforded. Because of this privileged protection, Ortega and Alemán avoided prosecution for various crimes committed in previous years, Ortega for sexual abuse charges and Alemán for fraud and embezzlement. “(source:http://www.coha.org/2006/08/10/the-upcoming-nicaraguan-elections/ )

 

El Pacto has also had effects on the electoral behavior of the parties since: “The Ortega and Alemán-controlled National Assembly passed legislation in January 2000 that increased the electoral threshold for political parties seeking to participate in the National Assembly, further establishing the dominance of the FSLN and the PLC. Lastly, Ortega saw to the passing of legislation through the National Assembly that lowered the percentage necessary to win the presidency in the first round to 35 percent of the popular vote (In the case that no one candidate reaches 35 percent of the vote, the two top candidates are subject to a runoff election). [...]The duopoly created by means of el Pacto, effectively brought about the gutting of Nicaraguan democratic legitimacy. ” (source:http://www.coha.org/2006/08/10/the-upcoming-nicaraguan-elections/ )

 

The pact between the two leaders has collected many critiques and attacks from inside, “Miles de nicaragüenses protestaron ayer en la ciudad de Granada, 90 km al sureste de la capital, contra los ex presidentes Daniel Ortega y Arnoldo Alemán”(source: http://www.diariohorizonte.com/view/articulo.aspx?articleid=2482&zoneid=7) and from outside, the United States have recently condemned this pact declaring that this agreement is a threat to democracy in Nicaragua as well as in the entire region (source:http://www.washingtonvoz.com/spanish/index2.php?option=com_content&do_pdf=1&id=127 )

 

http://www.diariohorizonte.com/view/articulo.aspx?articleid=2482&zoneid=7

http://www.coha.org/2006/08/10/the-upcoming-nicaraguan-elections/

http://www.washingtonvoz.com/spanish/index2.php?option=com_content&do_pdf=1&id=127

“Ortega cambió en semanas”

 “Ortega cambió en semanas”

According to an article from El Nuevo Diario (http://impreso.elnuevodiario.com.ni/2007/01/18/politica/39043), member of the Congress and leader of the ALianza Liberal Nicaraguense, Eduardo Montealrgre claims that the policies of President Ortega are really different form those proposed during the campaign. The promises made during the campaign as well as the policies supported previously have disappeared. In particular the intention to carry on the constitutional reform toward parliamentarism seems to have been reversed now that Ortega is in power.  Montealegre said “Cuando gobernaban desde abajo, querían parlamentarismo, y cuando gobiernan desde arriba, quieren un excesivo presidencialismo.”

Another article from BBC Mundo presents how Ortega has increased the powers of the president in Nicaragua by establishing institutions to monitor ministries and their policies that are not elected.  The article claims that he is following in the footsteps of Cuba and Venezuela with these policies. Ortega seems to have completely changed his position about fundamental policies. This is a serious problem of accountability given the fact that Ortega was elected because of his campaign’s promises and his past declarations.

According to the model proposed by Stokes, there are several possible explanations for the abrupt changes in Ortega’s policies.  The most likely in this case is that President Ortega did not think he could get elected following the policies he actually preferred and so he ran his election campaign on a platform he had no intention of following through with.  According to the logic of Stokes’ article, Ortega must think that his new policy direction will have better outcomes for voters, and the success of the outcome will win them over.  Unlike in Stokes’ article, however, the reforms proposed in this case affect presidential power, rather than the economic reforms.  Since these presidential reforms will not have as direct an impact on voters as economic reforms, Ortega may simply be assuming that a large percentage of the electorate will be indifferent to the changes.  Another explanation is that given his term limit and restrictions on reelection, Ortega doesn’t care how popular his policies are with the electorate.

-Nicaragua Group