[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 135 (Saturday, November 20, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2094-E2096]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  NICARAGUAN PRESIDENT ENRIQUE BOLANOS

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. EDOLPHUS TOWNS

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, November 19, 2004

  Mr. TOWNS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to draw your attention to an 
event in Latin America that underscores the region's instability and 
warrants international attention. Over the last few months highly-
regarded Nicaraguan President Enrique Bolanos has been fighting for his 
political survival as charges of corruption against him have led to 
calls for his impeachment.
  During Bolanos' three years in office he has proven himself a capable 
and popular leader, unafraid to fight against corruption within his 
government. The president and his supporters allege that 
Constitutionalist Liberal Party (PLC) leader Arnoldo Aleman, currently 
imprisoned for corruption, and Sandinista National Liberation Front 
leader Daniel Ortega reached a political agreement to oust Bolanos from 
power, secure their parties' control of key political institutions and 
gain eventual amnesty for Aleman, a former Nicaraguan president.
  While Ortega has recently changed his mind and announced that his 
party will not pursue impeachment, the Sandinistas and the PLC are 
continuing efforts severely limit Bolanos' presidential powers. Efforts 
to remove or reduce his presidential prerogatives can only undermine 
the democratically-elected president and have little to no 
constitutional basis. They also go against the will of the people, the 
majority of whom have pledged their full support to their embattled 
head of state, putting democracy in Nicaragua in jeopardy. Since the 
Nicaraguan president has little political support in the National 
Assembly and the opposition controls key democratic institutions, the 
international community must actively involve itself to ensure the 
nation's democracy.
  The following research memorandum about Nicaragua's crisis was 
authored by Research Associate David R. Kolker with additional research 
provided by Research Fellow Alex Sanchez, both of the Washington-based 
Council on Hemispheric Affairs (COHA). Founded in 1975, COHA is an 
independent,

[[Page E2095]]

non-profit, non-partisan, taxexempt research and information 
organization. It has been described on the Senate floor as being ``one 
of the Nation's most respected bodies of scholars and policy makers.''

       On October 7, Nicaragua's Comptroller's office called on 
     the National Assembly to remove President Enrique Bolanos 
     from office for failing to disclose the origin of $7 million 
     used in his 2001 presidential campaign. The following day, 
     the country's two major parties, the conservative 
     Constitutionalist Liberal Party (PLC) and the left-of-center 
     Sandinista National Liberation Front, announced that unless 
     Bolanos submitted his resignation, they would move to impeach 
     the 76-year old president. The resulting crisis, which 
     underscores the fragile political stability of Nicaragua as 
     well as a number of other Central American nations, 
     demonstrates how easily personal vendettas can manipulate the 
     political process, ignore the will of the people and endanger 
     democracy by undermining a competent and democratically-
     elected head of state.


                          Bolanos as President

       Enrique Bolanos, a moderate conservative who has often been 
     described as an honest chief executive, but lacking charisma, 
     was sworn into office in January 2002. As a former PLC Vice 
     President under President Arnoldo Aleman (1996-2001), Bolanos 
     went mostly unnoticed in his nation until his role as 
     coordinator of the economic aid effort following 1998's 
     devastating Hurricane Mitch displayed his leadership and 
     earned him the wide base of support needed to run for 
     president in 2001. He subsequently won the general election, 
     carrying 56 percent of the vote compared to Sandinista party 
     leader Daniel Ortega's 42 percent. Soon after his victory, 
     however, his crusade to purge corrupt officials from even the 
     highest echelons of government earned him many enemies. This 
     campaign led to his virtual ouster from the PLC by Aleman's 
     friends after the party leader and former president was 
     charged and then last December found guilty of corruption and 
     sentenced to twenty years in jail. Bolanos' severe criticism 
     of the Sandinista government's ties during the 1980s to Fidel 
     Castro, Libya's Muammar Gaddafi and Miguel ``Tirofijo'' 
     Marulanda, commander of Colombia's leftist insurgent force 
     FARC, also infuriated and deeply alienated Ortega.
       As president, Bolanos has emphasized economic modernization 
     for his underdeveloped nation and has achieved some 
     successes. Besides fighting corruption and pursuing a 
     transparent government, he has raised teachers' salaries, 
     assisted farmers, begun destroying the military's 
     stockpile of shoulder-fired missiles and upheld the 1990 
     peace accords signed after more than a decade of civil war 
     between the Sandinistas and the U.S.-backed contras. 
     Despite his accomplishments in office, opposition groups 
     have continuously targeted him, making him the scapegoat 
     for the nation's multiple problems and accusing him of 
     being Washington's puppet because of his controversial 
     support for the Central American Free Trade Agreement.


                            The Enemy Within

       Bolanos has accused his main political rivals, Aleman and 
     Ortega, of orchestrating the efforts to remove him from 
     office. According to an October 19 article in the Miami 
     Herald, the Nicaraguan president ``has repeatedly alleged 
     since his campaign financing scandal erupted in late 2002 
     that Ortega and Aleman were trying to forge an agreement that 
     would impeach the president and leave Aleman under house 
     arrest.'' Indeed, a Nicaraguan government official confirmed 
     to COHA the accuracy of the supposed Aleman-Ortega pact: in 
     exchange for enacting constitutional reforms granting Aleman 
     immunity, the Sandinistas would gain control of the 
     judiciary, allowing the ``two caudillos (strongmen) . . . to 
     fill the key positions of the Comptroller's Office, the 
     Supreme Court of Justice, the Supreme Electoral Council and 
     the Prosecutor's Office with their allies.'' While the PLC 
     (41 seats) and Sandinistas (38 seats) currently control more 
     than the two thirds of the 92-seat National Assembly needed 
     to impeach the president, it seems unlikely that a vote will 
     ever take place. The Nicaraguan official also explained to 
     COHA the highly questionable nature of such proceedings, 
     making it clear that impeachment is unrealistic: ``No piece 
     of legislation existing in Nicaragua gives power to the 
     Comptroller's Office to order the removal of the President'' 
     and as a result, the resolution to impeach Bolanos ``is 
     unconstitutional, clearly exceeds the Comptroller's office 
     powers and jurisdiction, and represents a clear violation to 
     the due process (Art. 10 num. 17; Art. 172, Law of the 
     Comptroller's Office, Decree 625-1980 as amended).'' 
     Additionally, ``neither the Constitution nor any piece of 
     legislation authorizes the National Assembly to take action 
     on [the resolution] (Nicaraguan Constitution Art. 138, 
     Faculties of the National Assembly).''
       While impeaching Bolanos would clearly be unconstitutional, 
     it was not until Ortega's November 6 announcement that his 
     party, which always follows his lead, would not pursue 
     impeachment that the president's job appeared to be safe. 
     However, Ortega's decision may be little more than the result 
     of the Sandinistas having found a way to leave Bolanos in 
     office, albeit with severely limited powers. In early 
     November, a bill was proposed in the National Assembly that 
     would revoke the president's power to appoint cabinet 
     ministers, vice-ministers, diplomats and directors of state 
     agencies. If both the PLC and Sandinistas support the bill, 
     which seems likely, it would have more than the sixty percent 
     of the vote needed for it to pass and cripple the president.
       Regardless of whether Bolanos is removed or marginalized, 
     the will of Nicaraguans, the majority of whom believe the 
     charges against their beleaguered president are unfounded, is 
     being completely ignored. According to a poll published on 
     October 19 in the Nicaraguan daily La Prensa, 69 percent of 
     Nicaraguans back Bolanos and think the corruption charges 
     against him are a ``political trap,'' while 66 percent 
     believe he holds international credibility. Only 22 percent 
     think that the charges are grounded in truth. Clearly, the 
     average citizen is supportive of Bolanos and wants him to 
     remain in power. Yet as long as the PLC and Sandinistas 
     pursue their own agendas and not those of their constituents, 
     democracy in Nicaragua will be jeopardized.


                       Can the OAS Save Bolanos?

       Before Ortega pledged not to purse impeachment, it seemed 
     that the president's only hope for survival in office would 
     be through the direct intervention of the Organization of 
     American States (OAS). Aside from eight party deputies in the 
     legislature, Bolanos has virtually no political support in 
     the National Assembly. However, he has received noteworthy 
     backing from abroad. In an October 16 press release, U.S. 
     State Department spokesman Richard Boucher expressed the Bush 
     administration's strong support for the besieged Nicaraguan 
     president, stating, ``We deplore recent politically motivated 
     attempts, based on dubious legal precedent, to undermine the 
     constitutional order in Nicaragua.'' He also praised Bolanos' 
     ``efforts to eradicate corruption and promote democracy'' 
     and called on the OAS to come to his aid.
       In a mid-October meeting in Managua of Central American 
     leaders, the presidents of El Salvador, Honduras and 
     Guatemala, as well as the Panamanian vice president and the 
     foreign ministers of Costa Rica and Belize, requested 
     intervention by the OAS to prevent Bolanos' removal. 
     Representing this significant bloc of neighboring nations, 
     Salvadoran President Antonio Saca said, ``We agreed to 
     instruct the permanent representatives of the countries in 
     the Central America System of Integration before the OAS to 
     immediately convene the (OAS) Permanent Council to debate the 
     threatening political and institutional situation.'' 
     Moreover, as scandals inundate the region, some critics 
     believe these leaders' support of the Nicaraguan president is 
     a way to guarantee that they will not lose power if a crisis 
     like the one Bolanos is now facing occurs in their respective 
     countries. Costa Rican President Abel Pacheco, former 
     Guatemalan President Alfonso Portillo and former Honduran 
     President Rafael Callejas all have been recently investigated 
     for corruption. Additionally, former Guatemalan Vice 
     President Francisco Reyes is currently imprisoned and ex-
     Costa Rican President and former OAS Secretary General Miguel 
     Angel Rodriguez is under house arrest, both on corruption 
     charges. Regional leaders are also surely keeping an eye on 
     the developing crisis in Ecuador, where President Lucio 
     Gutierrez's cabinet is rapidly resigning as he faces 
     dismissal for the alleged misappropriation of campaign funds.
       From October 18-20, acting OAS Secretary General Luigi 
     Einaudi and Permanent Council Chairman (and former Panamanian 
     president) Aristides Royo led an OAS delegation to meet with 
     Bolanos and his political opponents. According to an October 
     22 OAS press release, the delegation was ``not mounted to 
     support the president or his government, the visit was 
     instead intended to support `democratic institutions.' '' 
     While the OAS has not yet released a full report on the 
     delegation's findings, the London based LatinNews website 
     reported that on October 24, Bolanos said the OAS ``agreed 
     with him that the move to impeach him was illegal.'' In any 
     case, OAS efforts to assist the president may be hindered by 
     internal problems. The October 15 resignation, after less 
     than three weeks in office, of Secretary General Rodriguez as 
     a result of a corruption scandal in his native Costa Rica 
     cost the OAS much credibility. Prior to the OAS delegation's 
     arrival, PLC Deputy Enrique Quinonez captured many 
     people's sentiments when he proclaimed to La Prensa, ``Now 
     Bolanos' employees say that they will turn to the OAS, by 
     God! . . . the new Secretary General of the OAS resigned 
     for corruption.''
       The OAS delegation was formed under the auspices of the 
     OAS's Democratic Charter. Signed in Lima in September 2001, 
     that document states that ``when the government of a member 
     state considers that its democratic political institutional 
     process or its legitimate exercise of power is at risk, it 
     may request assistance from the Secretary General or the 
     Permanent Council for the strengthening and preservation of 
     its democratic system.'' If Bolanos is ousted, according to 
     Article 21 of the Charter, the most the OAS can do is suspend 
     Nicaragua's membership. However, such a move would likely 
     result in international condemnation of those responsible for 
     ousting the president and possibly hinder the disbursement of 
     desperately needed international aid to the country. While 
     the World Bank and International Monetary Fund forgave 
     Nicaragua's $5.1 billion debt last January, aid remains of 
     crucial importance in a country where it is estimated that in 
     2001, 50 percent of the population lived in poverty. On 
     October 21, Nicaragua suffered a

[[Page E2096]]

     major setback as a result of the Bolanos crisis when Taiwan, 
     which provided the country with nearly $200 million in aid 
     between 1997 and 2003, announced it would cease sending aid 
     until the national crisis is resolved.


                     light at the end of the tunnel

       The PLC and Sandinista plan to oust the president, or at 
     least strip him of much of his power, has largely ignored the 
     sentiments of the average Nicaraguan. As Rodolfo Delgado 
     Romero of the Managuabased Nicaraguan Studies Institute told 
     COHA, ``Nicaragua must overcome the vicious cycle of crises 
     and have the capacity to learn from errors that date back to 
     the 19th century'' so it is no longer a country ``where the 
     majority of the population is excluded from the decision-
     making process . . . a nation controlled by relatively 
     exclusive elites for most of its history.'' Nicaragua is in 
     desperate need for politicians who work on behalf of and 
     truthfully represent its citizens.
       The power struggle currently being witnessed in Nicaragua 
     also demonstrates that the region is still plagued by 
     corruption and political pandering. Such behavior invariably 
     leads to unstable rule, which carries the potential for 
     serious conflict and underscores the need for a corruption-
     free OAS that can act decisively as an arbiter to uphold 
     democracy in the hemisphere. It is disconcerting to note that 
     despite his three years of painfully-achieved economic 
     progress in a nation wrestling with stifling 
     underdevelopment, Bolanos is on the verge of falling victim 
     to manipulations by self-serving political opponents. While 
     it appears likely that President Bolanos will narrowly 
     survive to finish his term, the events of the last two month 
     have cast an almost impenetrable shadow over Nicaragua's 
     troubled democracy.

                          ____________________