A Variation on Old Themes

The U.S. press, still overwhlemed by the specter of Hugo Chavez and Venezuela, missed the rhetoric of faith and reconciliation that dominated Nicaragua’s recent presidential election.

By Nora Connor

The midterm elections in the U.S. weren’t the only ones loaded with the rhetoric of faith, but if you’ve been reading the newspaper, you could be forgiven for thinking that Nicaragua’s presidential election, which took place on November 5, was all about the Cold War. In reporting on former president (1985-1990) and revolutionary Sandinista leader Daniel Ortega’s campaign, major papers invariably led with Ortega’s past role as Marxist foil to Reagan’s Contras and went on to ponder the likelihood of a reprise. With the specter of Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez — assigned Ortega