One of the hallmarks of any working constitutional government is the separation of powers, that is, executive, legislative and judicial powers, into three autonomous branches.  One cannot be “beholding” to another or the whole idea is just a “house of cards.”  That seems to be the case in Nicaragua.  Consider the recent case whereby the Supreme Court (the “judicial” branch) decided that it was constitutional for the president to run for consecutive terms, thereby potentially handing over continuous control of the executive power to Daniel Ortega.  Who happened to be in control of the judicial power when that decision was laid down?  Magistrates affiliated with the FSLN, Frente Sandinista de Liberación Nacional, Ortega’s party, that’s who.  The court tried to draw analogous comparisons to Costa Rica’s move in 2003 to allow its executive to be elected for more than a single term.  But Oscar Arias is having nothing of the analogy.  The difference is as clear a a drop of water is to a drop of oil, stated Arias in an article appearing in La Nación.  In the case of 2003, Arias says there was vigorous debate on the issue, whereas in Nicaragua, there was none.  The decision was taken at a time when the FSLN were the only magistrates present and able to vote the issue.  Also, Arias was not in power when the decision was taken, as in the case of Ortega, which is perhaps to me the clearest distinction.  Lately, there has been much brouhaha about Ortega’s two sons living in Costa Rica in the home of Roberto Rivas.  Rivas has a luxury home located in the Villa Real residential area in Santa Ana, one of San Jose most upscale sections.  The Ortega boys are both studying in a Costa Rican university.  Rivas happens to be the “Consejo Supremo Electoral,”  which means he is the person who oversees Nicaragua’s electoral processes.  Processes that in recent local elections were viewed by many as completely fraudulent in favor of the FSLN.  By all accounts it seems that Ortega is sowing his dictatorial seeds quite well in Nicaragua.

Link to Article in La Nación

Why is it that Latin American socialists are so afraid of opposing opinions?  Now I read that Hugo Chávez has shut down 34 radio stations and threatens another 200.  Why?  Because they say things he doesn’t like.  If anyone reads any of my blogs they can easily see I am no fan of the type of “capitalism run amuck” as exemplified by the U.S.  I am not a socialist, but I do believe that capitalism must be compassionate and must recognize that “wealth-spreading” is not necessarily a bad thing….but rampant greed is.  It would be wonderful if folks just recognized that on their own and made a personal decision to “spread the wealth” as opposed to having the government make that decision for them, but don’t hold your breath on that one.  Nevertheless I am apalled at the actions of Chávez and find them indefensible on any level.  Ortega tried the same type of shenanigans in Nicaragua (read past post).  What are these guys so afraid of?  It is because when you boil it all down, all the shouts and slogans about “mas victorias” y “poder al pueblo” are nothing more than pandering populist attempts at retaining as much power for themselves as possible.  And when that power is threatened by any means, they will employ all the “machinery” at their disposal to quash it, regardless of the cost to humanity.  This represents the main problem with socialist and communist forms of government.  And that is that when you absolutely centralize all the power, the center becomes absolutely corrupt.  Happens every time and eventually the apple becomes rotten at the core and the socialist system becomes no better than the common dictatorship that it was installed to replace.  Venezolanos should not for a second put up with what Chávez is trying to do.

In free societies elections are supposed to reflect the will of the people.  Well, tell that to Daniel Ortega and his Sandinista cronies.  Three persons died in violent disturbances in Managua and other cities after the opposition party to the Sandinistas, Partido Liberal, challenged the results of municipal elections in which the Sandinistas claimed victory.  The U.S. State Department expressed concern of supposed extensive irregularities in the elections and insisted that the government in Managua take steps to assure that they reflected the will of the people.  According to the CSE (Consejo Supremo Electoral) the party Frente Sandinista won 94 of the 146 mayorships that were in contest.  Regardless of whether claims of election fraud are true, it appears that Daniel Ortega and his Sandinistas have lost the confidence of many Nicaraguans.  Contrast what is happening in Nicaragua with the peaceful transition of power taking place in the United States. Then ask yourself, does socialism work?  The Sandinistas came into power with the same “spread the wealth” ideas that brought the Democrats into power in this year’s election in the U.S.  But has their promise of spread the wealth come to fruition?  Are the Nicaraguan people better off because of it?  The violence that marred yesterday’s elections is telling evidence that it has not worked.