Who is the real Daniel Ortega?

Which is the Daniel Ortega who will rule Nicaragua? The old rebel leader or a new, more moderate politician as he has presented himself in recent months?

Nicaraguan and US Spanish-language media closely following the presidential election victory of the former Sandinista leader aren't sure, according to an article distributed by New America Media, the umbrella organisation of ethnic news media in the US.

Although he is a well-known figure and symbol of the Sandinista revolution of 1979, the present-day Ortega seems to be 'an unknown', says La Opinión, the largest Spanish-language newspaper in the US.

"The price (of his victory) seems to be his conversion from a revolutionary leader into a simple politician who wants to be elected at any cost," adds the newspaper.

Daniel Ortega Saavedra was one of the leaders of the Sandinista rebels who ousted rightwing dictator Anastasio Somoza in July 1979 and established a leftist regime in Nicaragua.

During the 1980s, Ortega led the Sandinistas in a long and bloody civil war against the US-backed Contras. Ortega was elected president in 1984 and was also president of Nicaragua from 1985 to 1990.

In the US, the Sandinista leader continues to be the ogre of the past Cold War. But in Nicaragua, he has remade his image.

Ortega's "turn to the right" is evident in his political pact six years ago with former president Arnoldo Alemán, his old political adversary who is now under house arrest for corruption.

But the former Sandinista leader's attempts to change his image are hindered by his past.

"Daniel Ortega's worst enemy is named Daniel Ortega," wrote Nicaraguan poet and writer Gioconda Belli.

Ortega's "best defense" during his presidential campaign, Belli writes, has been "to hide from his worst enemy -- himself -- and keep the real man quiet so the mirage replaces his true self".

This strategy, she adds, proves that his new image is inauthentic.

"A person who truly changes," she writes, "doesn't hide from public scrutiny, or fear the public eye. Daniel Ortega has shown that he is afraid we will see him for who he really is."

Ortega has been accused of sexual abuse by his stepdaughter Zoilamérica Narváez, who said in 1998 that Ortega had abused her from age 11.

The son of journalist and former party member Carlos Guadamuz, who was murdered in 2004, accuses Ortega of the crime. Ortega denies both charges.

Today, Ortega's government contends with obstacles it did not face last time he took power, according to La Prensa.

But Ortega's ability to govern could be weakened by his new image and newfound alliances, commentator Onofre Guevara López writes in the El Nuevo Diario, which is based in Managua.

The country's economic conditions will not change with Ortega's victory, Guevara López writes.

Ortega has been weakened by his alliance with a Catholic cardinal and the right wing and he will be unable to fulfil his electoral promises.

(IANS)

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