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| Essay Archive | March 31, 2004 |
JUDICIAL REFORM IN NICARAGUA
Nicaragua's Parliament Erupts
The day after the parliament brawl, a political cartoon illustrated famed US boxing promoter Don King relaxing in his arm chair, gazing at a copy of Nicaragua’s La Prensa newspaper, exclaiming, “What a goldmine for prize fighters! Why didn’t I think of this before?” Don King was viewing photographs of the tribute paid by Nicaragua’s lawmakers to Nicaragua’s great tradition of world champion boxers this month during a solemn session of Nicaragua’s parliament. Unlike previous tributes to sports heroes that involved medals, speeches and standing ovations, this ceremony consisted of Nicaraguan senators in fine suits and Rolex watches throwing punches in the parliament assembly, heated battles with the main card consisting of two separate but equally spectacular fist-fights between Sandinista and Liberal Party senators.
Emotions are high in Nicaragua’s political arena, and while democracy is what all Nicaraguans preach, some parliament members decided on March 25th to settle ideological differences in a manner that only could make Oscar de la Hoya proud. While it is doubtful Don King will be taking over the careers of any of the four Nicaraguan lawmakers in the near future, their heated fist-fights, shown on all Nicaragua television stations and beamed across Latin America by CNN in Español, exposed the depth of the fierce divide between the dominant political parties on the subject of judicial reform.
Some 80% of Nicaragua’s judges today are current or former members of the FSLN (Sandinista Party). In many countries this kind of statistic might go unnoticed, after all judges like any citizens have a right to their political views. Yet many of Nicaragua’s judges got their career started during the 1980’s, when, the FSLN created the Tribunal Popular Anti-Somocista (TPA) to run Nicaragua’s civil court system. The judges who presided over these courts possessed few credentials beyond party loyalty and many Nicaraguans were sent off to the slammer with out anything that even remotely resembled due legal process. The judges of the TPA wore military uniforms and were given military ranks, but passing years served to legitimize the Nicaraguan courts, they became plainly civil, and many of the judges from the original Tribunal Popular Anti-Somocista have grown to attain a high level of professionalism and credibility.
Judicial neutrality, however, might be another story and most Nicaraguan feel the brunt of the Sandinista Party’s political power today remains in the Nicaraguan court system. Much to the determent of the famous corruption case prosecuted against former president Arnoldo Alemán, the state judge for the case, Juana Mendez, is openly Sandinista, showing up at political rallies, dressing in party colors in the courtroom and sporting Daniel Ortega tee-shirts in her free time. Juana Mendez got her start in the TPA and her presiding over the Alemán case has given the Liberal Party fuel in their accusation that the corruption case against Alemán is politically motivated. Despite Alemán recently being honored as one of the “ten most corrupt world leaders” by an international anti-corruption organization, the Liberal Party insists that Arnoldo Alemán is a victim of FSLN leader Daniel Ortega and his control over Juana Mendez and the Nicaraguan courts.
Revenge is sweet and the Liberal Party is now trying to pass a new bill in congress that would overhaul the Nicaraguan court system, specifically the Sandinista judges. The new bill states that any judge who was at any time involved in a “repressive state organization” would immediately be disqualified for work as a judge. The repressive state organization in question is the now defunct 1980’s Ministry of Interior, which selected the judges and administered the TPA court system. If the bill passes, in one fell swoop as much of half of all Nicaraguan judges could be out of work, creating potential chaos in the national court system. For the judges who were never part of the TPA, a test would be given to test their knowledge of Nicaraguan law. The argument from the Liberal Party is that the courts must be professionalized, but the meaning is clear, the bill would de-Sandinistasize the judicial system, taking away Daniel Ortega and the FSLN’s biggest negotiating tool. The Sandinista claim that the new law is a ploy to spring Liberal Party ex-president Alemán from jail. While the virtue of a Liberal Party dominated court system is highly dubious, several very peculiar and disturbing verdicts in the last two years have exposed to all viewers an unhealthy level of influence for Daniel Ortega and FSLN party leaders.
On March 25th of this year the Liberal Party senators were preparing to officially introduce the new bill for judicial reform known in Spanish as the “Ley de Carerra Judicial”, which reportedly has enough votes in parliament to be approved. To support the Liberals, the public viewing area of the parliament - separated by the lawmakers by a big glass wall, was filled with “Liberal Party Youth”, all fanatical supports of convict Arnoldo Alemán and vehemently anti-Sandinista. A group of very outspoken Sandinista loyal judges also came to the plenary and it wasn’t long before the two groups started pushing and shoving, one Liberal Party woman even putting a full-arm chokehold on fiery judge Ileana Pérez, after receiving some serious elbows to the body from Judge Pérez. Senators from both parties looked through the protective glass that separated them, which now resembled the boards of a hockey rink brawl, and appealed for calm from both the Sandinista judges and Liberal party fans.
Finally it was decided to let the judges escape the conflict via the parliamentary floor, though by now things had become much more heated between the parliament members themselves. The plenary session was suspended and while some parliament members simply left, other senators stayed on and chaos broke loose. Around the world legislative stage fist fights are not unheard of and happen every year. Yet the Nicaraguan public is growing increasingly tired of both dominant parties and their arrogant disregard for public will. Nicaraguans were not at all impressed by the ensuing parliamentary “bochinche” or brawl. A survey in La Prensa the following day showed that the dominant reaction to the disturbance was “shame” at 41%, while 26.5% felt “disappointment” and 17% related “sadness”. There appears a disgusted resignation to the political state of the country at the moment on the part of the public, yet the two parties look destined to continue attacking each other, especially over the controversial proposed bill for judicial reform. The solution for Nicaraguans, as it often is, is laughter, cultivated from a rich bed of sarcasm. Below is a translation of a small spoof that ran in La Prensa’s March 25, 2004 issue. The story was written by La Prensa journalist Pablo Fletes and what made it even more Nicaraguan was that it appeared innocently in the midst of very serious reports related to the turbulent meeting of congress and its potential ramifications for the nation.
A footnote to the La Prensa spoof below (that all Nicaraguans know about) is that two of the boxing lawmakers have already proved their potential marketability to Don King by developing ring-worthy nicknames gained during incidents in their not to distant past. Liberal Party senator Fernando Avellán made press fame a few years ago for unloading a full round of an automatic pistol into the air, while trying to clear his way out of a raucous victory party for a baseball game in Managua. The shots fired from the window of his Mitsubishi Montero were captured on national TV and earned him the press nickname “El Pistolero” or “The Gunslinger”. Sandinista Party parliament representative Roberto González, head of senate labor commission, has also gained fame as an expert at lighting old car tires on fire, a favorite ploy used in Sandinista street protests, which has earned him the nickname of “Quema Llanta” or the “Flaming Tire”.
DUARTE AND AVELLÁN WIN BY DECISION
By Pablo Fletes / La Prensa / March 25, 2004
The Liberal Party senators Victor Duarte and Fernando “The Gunslinger” Avellán had successful boxing debut, prevailing over their colleagues Roberto “Burning Tire” González and Leonidas Centeno Thursday morning, in an attractive boxing card that was held in the parliament session room ring, where the Sandinistas lost their unbeaten streak.
Liberal senator Duarte was the most impressive in the ring. Aided by his loyal fans in attendance at the National Assembly, he demonstrated his apt technique with rapid combinations to the face of Sandinista senator González. The Sandinista senator responded to the attack, but he could not overcome the consistency of Duarte, who also took down González with a quick wrestling move. Duarte fought on, despite calls from his corner to stop, and González also was prepared to keep fighting, thanks to a illegal punch connected by a member of González’ corner. González finished the fight with a small (but bloody) cut and a swollen left eye, while Duarte exhibited a clean face thanks to his constant attack and good defense. González threw a lot of empty punches that failed to score points.
The second Liberal Party triumph came with the punches of Fernando “The Gunslinger” Avellán, who took advantage of his superior tonnage (220 pounds vs. 170 pounds) to beat Sandinista Party senator Leonidas Centeno. A the beginning of the first round the Sandinista Party senator responded to an attack with a solid upper cut to the chin of Avellán, but the Liberal Avellán connected with three shots to the body that almost resulted in a standing eight count. Avellán finally provoked a cut in the left cheek of Centeno, demonstrating that Avellán’s hands are not only useful for grasping a firearm.
Copyright © Richard Leonardi