The Sad Decline of Daniel Ortega: Rewriting the Nicaraguan Constitution Once Again, with the Help of Corruption
Incorporated, Arnoldo Alemán
• Daniel Ortega, veteran leader of the leftwing opposition National Sandinista Liberation Front (FSLN), and Arnoldo
Alemán, former president and leader of the rightwing Liberation Constitutionalist Party (PLC), once again have joined
forces, this time in an effort to eliminate Nicaragua’s constitutional separation of powers.
• The joint campaign of Ortega and Alemán to remove President Enrique Bolaños from office, or severely impede the
executive branch’s power, appears to have no constitutional basis.
• One might suspect that Alemán has a personal vendetta to settle against the incumbent president, after the former was
convicted of money laundering and subsequently sentenced to twenty years in prison by the Bolaños administration.
• Ortega and Alemán have a history of “behind closed doors” negotiations, conspiring to rewrite the Nicaraguan
constitution for their own self-interests. However, some observers support these attempts to change the constitution,
hoping that these reforms will create more balance among the government’s branches.
• In an attempt to avert a national crisis, Bolaños recently succeeded in petitioning the Sandinista and PLC-controlled
National Assembly to temporarily delay its effort to remove him from office, on the basis that the proceedings may be
unconstitutional.
• The resulting delay has cleared the way for the formal launching of a national dialogue set to take place among
representatives of the country’s major political parties, facilitated by representatives of the Catholic Church and the
United Nations.
Opposition leaders Daniel Ortega, head of the National Sandinista Liberation Front (FSLN) and Arnoldo Alemán,
ex-president and leader of the rightwing Liberal Constitutionalist Party (PLC), in an attempt to strip President Enrique
Bolaños of much of his power, are proposing constitutional changes that, if successful, would considerably alter the
framework of Nicaragua’s democracy. On January 10, the National Assembly passed a bill first introduced last November
that would change the constitution and remove President Bolaños’ power to directly appoint cabinet ministers,
vice-ministers, diplomats and directors of state agencies, thus severely undermining the chief executive’s authority.
Bolaños, however, in an appeal for international assistance, has temporarily managed to avert a major crisis by
implementing an Accord for National Dialogue to be overseen by Cardinal Obando y Bravo and Jorge Chediek, delegates of
the Catholic Church and the UN, respectively. By initiating this endeavor that requires the legislative and executive
branches to reach a consensus before any constitutional change can take effect, Bolaños has been able to sidestep the
measure recently passed by the National Assembly that would limit his powers. The Dialogue is a clear indication of the
lengths Bolaños will have to go in order to preserve what he sees as the nation’s democratic foundations.
An Attack on Democracy?
The recent constitutional reforms proposed by the National Assembly are aimed at crippling executive powers, the one
remaining branch of government not controlled by the two caudillos (strongmen) – Ortega and Alemán. The National
Assembly, however, possesses no constitutional authority to declare itself an independent body, superior to the other
branches of government. Thus, the proposed constitutional change currently being rushed through the National Assembly
appears to violate Article 129 of the Nicaraguan Constitution, which states: the legislative, executive, judicial, and
electoral powers are independent of each other and they will cooperate harmoniously, subordinated only to the supreme
interests of the nation and that which is established in the present Constitution. Since no one specific branch
possesses the constitutional power to subordinate, much less eliminate, the autonomy of another, the very notion of the
National Assembly usurping the chief executive’s power would arguably alter the nation’s fundamental democratic
principles and eliminate the checks and balances that most would argue are needed to maintain harmonious cooperation.
It should also be noted that the proposed PLC-Sandinista constitutional reforms would nullify the vote of the Nicaraguan
people, for Bolaños is, after all, a popularly- elected president. However, some independent observers feel that the
1987 constitution drafted by the Sandinistas granted too much power to the executive branch and therefore support the
National Assembly’s current reforms. The strength of the executive branch is an issue being hotly contested, especially
by those who view Bolaños as “a friend of the bankers” and a man aligned with Washington’s rightwing ideologues.
Furthermore, these observers who continually express their discontent would argue that the new constitutional changes
are not, in fact, negative. It has become a part of Nicaragua’s political culture for a president to appoint cabinet
members and other officials based on “personal favors, business affinity, ideological loyalties, patronage, nepotism and
the like, rather than professional capacity,” as was reported in Nicaragua's Envío News Magazine (“Year-end Firework in
the Legal Country and the Real One,” January 2005). However, whether or not one supports the proposed reforms, the fact
still remains that they are unconstitutional. The removal of Bolaños from office, or even the subordination of the
executive branch’s power, violates Nicaragua’s democracy.
Taking it Personally
There is little doubt that PLC leader Arnoldo Alemán has a vendetta to settle against his former vice president, Enrique
Bolaños. Following his defeat of Sandinista leader Daniel Ortega in the 2001 elections, Bolaños pledged to rid
Nicaraguan politics of corruption – a campaign vow that led to his virtual ouster from the PLC by Alemán and his
cronies. In a nationwide anti-corruption campaign that won him much international praise, the president cracked down on
his former running mate after a money-laundering scandal involving Alemán surfaced. An investigation by Comptroller
General Agustín Jarquín revealed that Alemán had diverted government funds for personal use by purchasing property from
impoverished farmers whose parcels had been devastated by Hurricane Mitch in 1999. Alemán’s candid admission that he
used public resources on a construction project at one of his private estates, in addition to acknowledging that his
personal assets significantly increased during his time as president, promptly led to his arrest.
Alemán’s subsequent conviction on the grounds of corruption has not been well received within the National Assembly,
where he has many friends. In October 2004, the Comptroller General’s Office called upon the Assembly to remove Bolaños
from office for his failure to disclose the origin of $7 million purportedly used in his 2001 presidential campaign. In
reaction, both the FSLN and the PLC requested that unless Bolaños tender his resignation, they would move to impeach
him. However, the questionable tactics being used to remove Bolaños, or severely limit the executive branch’s governing
power, seems to be a method designed to protect the FSLN and the PLC. Given the dubious history of Nicaragua’s
politicians who administered previous reforms, it must be asked: does the current legislative “package” actually further
the possibility for a greater democracy, as Ortega and Alemán would argue, or is it merely providing a narrow corridor
through which the two caudillos can seize control of Nicaragua’s political processes?
Corruption: A Cornerstone of Alemán’s Presidency
During his presidency, Alemán created an Anti-Corruption Commission in an attempt to disguise the methods that he and
his confederates used for diverting public funds. Ironically, this commission was to be headed by then Vice President
Bolaños. The anti-corruption attitude adopted by Alemán and his party cohorts, however, only helped to increase, instead
of curtail, the growing distrust among average Nicaraguans. While president, Alemán’s governing style – namely the
concentration of power in his own hands – frustrated and angered many sectors of Nicaraguan society, Daniel Ortega and
members of the FSLN included. Over time, as it became increasingly difficult to unilaterally consolidate power, Alemán
had no choice but to look to Ortega and his Sandinista followers for support. Alemán and Ortega began to engage in a
series of “behind closed doors” negotiations, from which was spawned their infamous Pacto Liberal-Sandinista, or as it
is more commonly referred to, El Pacto.
After several meetings concerning a series of proposed constitutional reforms, a final version of El Pacto was drafted
in August 1999 and received the necessary legislative support to become law in January 2000. Alemán and Ortega, by means
of the PLC-Sandinista dominated National Assembly, managed to functionally rewrite the Nicaraguan Constitution in
pursuit of their own sectarian interests. El Pacto was not solely a strategically planned political alliance that
created alternating turns of governance for the two parties at both the provincial and municipal levels, but also
contained language devised to ensure immunity for Alemán after his presidency was concluded. Furthermore, these reforms
made it extremely challenging for any smaller third party to elect candidates to office, thus greatly undermining a
capacity for political competition and participation – both demonstrably crucial for a functioning democracy. The
potential threat of greater caudillo control, which seeks to maintain only the appearance of a democracy instead of its
substance, presents an extremely difficult challenge for President Bolaños if his power is in fact reduced.
Bolaños Fights Back
In a nationwide television address delivered on December 9, 2004, Bolaños announced that he would strongly oppose the
constitutional changes put forth by the National Assembly. Furthermore, the president intends to prove that the methods
being used to remove him represent an attempted “coup d’etat,” as stated in a January 7 press release issued by the
Nicaraguan Embassy in Washington.
The constitutional referendum proposed by Bolaños, as outlined in the Accord for National Dialogue, is based on a
three-pronged political attack that attempts to thwart the National Assembly’s goals by permitting the electorate to
vote on key issues. The first tactic seeks to reform the method by which delegates are selected to the National
Assembly. The president suggests that Nicaraguans be permitted to vote for their own representatives, instead of having
to choose from a list of pre-selected candidates. He is also seeking to ban the re-election of former presidents, such
as Ortega and Alemán, in order to counter the institutionalized corruption inherent in Nicaragua’s political system.
Giving citizens an opportunity to reject the joint campaign of the PLC and Sandinista “regime” would provide an
opportunity to restore the separation of powers that Ortega and Alemán have, in effect, attempted to eliminate. Finally,
Bolaños has proposed that any future constitutional changes (like those currently being debated within the National
Assembly) only be made via a national referendum.
National Dialogue: A Lasting Solution or another Futile Effort?
It appears that the constitutional referenda outlined by Bolaños in the accord, although strongly opposed by most of the
National Assembly, have attracted support from Nicaraguans and members of the international community. This support has
helped to pave the way for the formal launching of a national dialogue. A January 18 press release distributed by the
Nicaraguan Embassy states that “The eight point Accord [lays] out an expansive agenda for discussion of key political
issues…‘professionalization’ of the Supreme Court, the Supreme Electoral Council and the National Comptroller
General…commitments to discuss internally democratizing the political parties, and examining the way that delegates are
elected to the National Assembly.”
Additionally, the Nicaraguan ambassador to the U.S., Salvador Stadthagen, unsurprisingly observed that “[The accord] is
a real testament to the leadership of President Bolaños and the spirit of reconciliation in Nicaragua. We have to
congratulate and thank Nicaraguan civil society and the international community, particularly the United Nations, for
their constructive role in getting us to this point.”
Nonetheless, the active participation of each of the political parties involved in the Accord will be crucial for
resolving Nicaragua’s national crisis; for the time being, however, it seems that the measures to remove the president
have temporarily abated. Neighboring El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, in addition to Catholic Church and UN
delegations, will be paying close attention to what emerges from these sometimes acrimonious debates to ensure that the
legal norms of the System of Central American Integration (SICA), an institutional framework designed to facilitate the
eventual economic and political integration of Central America, are not violated.
“ Now that the dialogue is starting,” states Stadthagen, “it is absolutely critical for the world to continue
watching…this is an ambitious agenda and we will need the world community’s support.” As for Bolaños, who is continuing
his struggle with the National Assembly to uphold his democratic vision for Nicaragua, he will ultimately be tested by
the political challenges he presently confronts.
This analysis was prepared by Adam Kleiman, COHA Research Associate.