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February 1, 2005

THE GOOD, BAD AND UGLY
A Survey of Nicaragua's Love and Hate

A recent poll in Nicaragua conducted by Nicaragua's M & R Consulters put an open question before the Nicaragua public. They lined up sports stars, politicians, singers and television personalities. The question was simple. Do you have a negative or positive opinion of each personality? Some of the results were surprising, others much less so. Below is a brief synopsis of the top five good and top five bad-ugly.

PUBLIC PERSON	POSITIVE OPINION
Herty Lewites	84.1% Positive
The son of Jewish immigrants from WWII torn Poland, Herty is the winner of the pole, a victory that is no small feat for a Nicaraguan politician leaving office. Herty got his start in public life running arms underground to Sandinista (FSLN) rebels during their fight to overthrow the Somoza dictatorship. After the victory he became the Nicaraguan Minister of Tourism during the 1980's Sandinista dictatorship. Such notable projects as Montelimar Beach Resort were produced during his time as Minister. After the Sandinistas lost the 1990 elections Herty moved into the private sector, creating Hertylandia, a rural amusement park based very loosely on Disneylandia. Several failures in the private sector followed, as well as a loss at his first attempt to become Mayor of Managua in 1996. However in the year 2000 Herty was successful in his bid to become the mayor of the nation's economic and political heart, and his 4 years in office made him the most popular public figure in Nicaragua. For a political figure in Nicaragua's current political climate this level of popularity is nothing short of miraculous. Now Lewites has set his sights on the 2006 Presidential elections, but first another miracle is required, he must take control of the FSLN party from candidate-for-life Daniel Ortega.
Carlos Mejía Godoy	83.7% Positive
A close second for Carlos, Nicaragua's most renowned folk singer and tireless defender of Nicaraguan rural culture. Mejía Godoy has been turning out classic records since the 1970's and while first associated with the Sandinista faction of the revolution, he has later distanced himself from the Daniel Ortega dominated FSLN of the 1990's and early 21st century. Mejía Godoy is not blessed with a good singing voice, but his flair for creative, touching and humorous lyrics and sheer joy of performance more than compensate. Despite the pricey entrance fee to see him perform in his home stage, Carlos is seen as a defender of campesino music and culture and a hero of the common man. Interestingly he is now backing Herty Lewites bid to wrestle control of the Sandinista Party from Daniel Ortega and is said to once again be returning to political propaganda in his music (with a new song that supports Lewites bid to become president in 2006) for the first time since the 1980's. Mejía Godoy's likeable, gregarious character is complimented by an effortless humility.
Denis Martinez	79.8% Positive
A bronze metal finish for the pitcher Martinez, Nicaragua's brightest star ever to play in US Major League Baseball. Denis won 245 professional games during over two decades in the big leagues, more wins than any Latin American pitcher in the history of the sport. Denis Martinez has stayed out of politics, though he did try to take over management of the Nicaragua National League in 2004 only to have the rug pulled out from under him by the sport's old guard. Martinez has invested in Nicaragua tourism infrastructure and otherwise kept a low profile outside of the baseball world. Nicaragua's national stadium in Managua is named after him.
Edgard Tijerino	79.00% Positive
A long time sportswriter who has broadened his game to include interviews with leading political figures and weekly updates on the telenovelas during his popular Sunday afternoon variety show on Channel 2 in Managua. Tijerino writes sports stories for Nicaragua's leading newspaper and does the sports report for the prime time national news broadcast on Channel 2. His gravel voice and sharp sense of humor help lighten his non-sports program and disarm interview subjects, so much so that this lover of telenovelas, baseball and boxing often pulls off some of the most frank, honest and revealing political interviews in Nicaraguan journalism.
Violeta Barrios de Chamorro	77.8% Positive
The President of Nicaragua from 1990-1996, Doña Violeta, as she is known locally, surely deserved a Nobel Peace Prize for her incredibly efficient job at bringing Nicaragua into complete peace during the post-Contra War years. The widow of Pedro Joaquin Chamorro, the famed political rival to the final Somoza tyrant and publisher of Nicaragua's oldest newspaper La Prensa, Doña Violeta served on the 5 person 1979 revolutionary Reconstruction Board before resigning less than one year later. Soon a critique of Sandinista rule in the 1980's she found herself in the unusual and uncomfortable political checkmate of having two children on the side of the Sandinistas and two on the side of the Contras. As the former homemaker turned President wove her family back into to one piece, so she did with the nation. Despite her many political and economic success Doña Violeta left office with a less than 30% approval rating. Since then she has stubbornly refused to get involved in politics again - despite repeated prodding - and her approval rating grows each year.

PUBLIC PERSON	NEGATIVE OPINION
Arnoldo Alemán	72.7% Negative
An easy winner in the dislike sweepstakes, Mr. Alemán is currently under house arrest for embezzling at least US$100 million from state coffers during his 5 term as President of Nicaragua from 1997-2001, winning him 7 place on the world-wide list of most corrupt politicians. Alemán's stance as a staunch anti-Sandinista candidate helped him win the Mayoral seat of Managua in 1990. Legend has it that in 1990 Alemán was so broke that he was push starting his old Lada to get to the mayor's office each day. Yet by the time he finished his term he was living like a rich man. Despite accusations of corruption during his mayoral term from 1990-1996 Arnoldo Alemán won the 1996 presidential elections easily, beating perennial loser Sandinista candidate Daniel Ortega. Alemán was the hero of Nicaragua's far right, having spent time as a political prisoner during Ortega's rule in the 1980's, Alemán suffered behind bars while his first wife died of cancer. Despite his credentials as an enemy of Sandinismo and the left Alemán signed a secret pact with arch enemy Daniel Ortega in 1999, to ease his embezzlement of Nicaragua's already insufficient public funds. Today he still runs the PLC or Liberal Party from house arrest in his sprawling coffee farm and cattle ranch, much to the joy of his loyal senators and disgust of the general public. Surrounded by yes men and a full house of equally corrupt and compromised "public servants", Alemán is so out of touch with reality that he is still unwilling to give up hopes at another run for the highest office, though a puppet candidate is the likely future for his party in the 2006 elections.
Daniel Ortega	51.4% Negative
Second place for Ortega is nothing new, since he has finished the last 3 presidential elections in the same position. Despite a faithful hard-core following inside the FSLN most Sandinistas would prefer to send their party leader on a very long vacation, though his death grip on the FSLN shows little sign of wavering 15 years after he first took control. Ortega is still romanticized by fans around the world who worshiped him for standing up to the mighty US and Ronald Reagan, and though few Nicaraguans share such delusions of grandeur for Ortega, he does truly know how to work a crowd. Masked by a surplus of charisma and charm lurks the most Machiavellian of all Nicaraguan politicians and probably also the most brilliant. If political cynicism was a precious mineral Ortega would be wealthier than Bill Gates. The public is weary of his rhetoric, but Ortega knows that they like Arnoldo Alemán even less, so he is planning yet another run for the presidency in 2006. Many inside and outside the FSLN await the possibility that Herty Lewites can tug away the reigns from Ortega and lead the Sandinistas to victory in 2006.
Enrique Quiñónez	47.4% Negative
The leader of the Contra faction inside the Liberal Party controlled by convict Arnold Alemán, Senator Quiñónez is probably the most obnoxious politician in Nicaragua today, but he also such an adept master at calling the kettle black, that Quiñónez has smoke-screened his way to the top of the corrupt the PLC. Quiñónez sits in front of a red flag painted with black silhouettes of assault weapons for his weekly paid half-hour UHF program called "Cross Fire", a soft-fascist chat room in which he thoroughly slams the leftist Sandinistas (he is actually secretly allied with) while somehow succeed to please the most extremist members of the Liberal Party. This violent, gun-totting anti-Sandinista image lies in direct contrast to most reports of Quiñónez duty as a Contra fighter during the 1980's, which by most accounts saw limited to no action. One anecdote has the tough-talking Senator running like Hell for the Honduran border at the first sign of enemy fire on his one and only military mission into Sandinista held territory. Senator Quiñónez also lost his international bus route (Nicabus) that ran illegally between Managua, Nicaragua and San José, Costa Rica thanks to the current Nicaragua president's campaign against state corruption.
Wilfredo Navarro	42.6% Negative
After failing to win the mayoral race in 2000 for the Liberal Party against Herty Lewites, Navarro has been warming the chairs of Nicaragua's Parliament Board of Directors as one of the most faithful puppies for Arnold Alemán's mafia-like rule of the Liberal Party. His unwavering support of convict Alemán and his orders has fueled Senator Navarro's rise to the upper ranks of the universally disliked PLC, to the point that he is now snapping at the heals of Enrique Quiñónez for the title of "Worst of the Rest" after Alemán and Ortega in the we-can't-stand-them-anymore-Olympics. Navarro hopes dearly to be ordained as the Liberal Party presidential candidate for 2006 by Alemán. At the moment Navarro is utilizing his shadowy eloquence to defend shameless and highly damaging Liberal Party's moves to hand over the majority of the country's political power to the Sandinista Party in return for Alemán being given amnesty.
Guillermo Osorno	41.9% Negative
Fractionally less disliked than Senator Navarro is Senator Osorno. An evangelist preacher and leader of the now discredited (thanks to Osorno) Camino Cristiano Party (Christian Way), Osorno has obviously renounced one of the ten commandments, the one that alludes to stealing, and has been forced to rally behind the king of government theft Arnoldo Alemán, to protect his own proverbial donkey rear. Pastor Osorno's disarming show of love for dishonestly has brought ill-repute to his party and the scorn of the overwhelmingly Christian Nicaraguan population. Sharing the trademark extreme obesity of his true messiah, convict Arnoldo Alemán (symbolic of over consumption of state funds), his fatness gives Osorno the mark of a beast that cares little for the poor hard-working Nicaraguan populace that pays his inflated salary.

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