Good op-ed in today's Miami Herald laying out the problems in Nicaraguan democracy, the main two being former Presidents Aleman and Ortega. It's obvious that corruption has caused both of these politicians to give up their right-left ideologies. They're now trying to take down President Bolaños, who prosecuted Aleman and placed him under house arrest.
The Herald's hope for street protests may be a bit misplaced. Most protests up to this point have been against the current President. As usual, the extremists can get on the streets much easier than the average citizen. I like to hope I'm wrong, but I don't see Nicaragua's citizens stepping up and marching to defend the president's powers any time in the near future.
However, with the change in leadership in the OAS, there is reason to hope that the multilateral group may actually function in this case. The other governments in the region usually get a bit nervous when the OAS starts calling out presidents for failing to support democracy. However, what makes Nicaragua an interesting case for pushing democracy is that the OAS would be defending an embattled president and criticizing a legislature, something most governments in the hemisphere can support. This is an opportunity for the OAS to reassert its authority and to possibly lay down some precedent for when they do have to criticize a president who has gone too far.
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