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After sixteen years and numerous failed bids, Sandinista candidate Daniel Ortega will once again become president of Nicaragua. This past Sunday, Nicaraguans headed to the polls and elected the former guerrilla revolutionary to the presidency over his U.S. favored opponent Eduardo Montealegre. Daniel Ortega garnered 38% of the vote and won by a margin of 9% to successfully avoid a run-off election. In the run-up to the November 5th elections, former Reagan-era official involved in the Iran-Contra affair, Oliver North, asked voters not to support Ortega\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s presidential bid. U.S. Ambassador to Nicaragua, Paul Trivelli, called the Sandinista candidate a \u00e2\u20ac\u0153tiger who hasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t changed his stripes,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d and questioned the accountability of the Nicaraguan elections despite the Organization of American States deeming them in accordance with the law. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez called Ortega to congratulate him and said, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Now like never before, the Sandinista revolution and the Bolivarian revolution unite, to construct the future socialism of the 21st century.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d However, Ortega reassured the nation\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s business community by stating that he was not, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153contemplating dramatic, radical changes in the economy, which has stabilized in recent years.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Nicaragua, after a consecutive series of neo-liberal presidents, has remained one of the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere. <\/p>\n![\"ortega\"](\"http:\/\/d.yimg.com\/us.yimg.com\/p\/ap\/20061109\/capt.a32629a0919d4a6c87ae5860536f3a24.nicaragua_elections_nic117.jpg?x=255&y=345&sig=YupPAV9okwYrh7vKa3lPKw--\")
GUEST: Katherine Hoyt, Co-Coordinator of Nicaragua National Network<\/em><\/p>\n