2006年VOA标准英语-Nicaragua Presidential Election Could Return Sa

By Bill Rodgers
Washington, DC
03 November 2006
 
watch Nicaragua Election Preview

Former leftist Nicaraguan leader Daniel Ortega could return to power if he wins Sunday's presidential election.  The opposition¹ is divided and Ortega appears to hold a strong enough lead to give him a first round victory.  The prospect² of the Sandinista leader's return to power has set off alarms in Washington.

 
Daniel Ortega
To the tune³ of John Lennon's "Give Peace A Chance", Daniel Ortega may be headed for victory Sunday -- bringing the former leftist leader back to power after 16 years  -- and three unsuccessful attempts at winning the presidency⁴.

His chances are good because he faces a divided opposition and his Sandinista party is effective in turning out the vote, says Michael Shifter of the Inter⁵ American Dialogue.

"He's got a machine, he's got the Sandinista party apparatus⁶ that operates quite well, and operates throughout the country.  There's a sense of loyalty⁷ that people have, there's a sense that if he wins they are going to get some benefits. And I also think he has a message of greater social justice that resonates in a place like Nicaragua that has had very difficult economic times," said Shifter.

The Sandinistas came to power in 1979 after a revolt that overthrew⁸ a right-wing dictatorship.  Enjoying popular support at first, Ortega presided over the Marxist government during the 1980s, and drew support from Cuba and the former Soviet⁹ Union.

Nicaragua became a Cold War battlefield as the United States sponsored rebels -- known as contras -- to overthrow¹⁰ the Sandinistas.  The conflict ended when Ortega agreed to free elections, and then lost the 1990 presidential contest to conservative Violeta Chamorro.

 
Roger Noriega
The prospect of Ortega's return to power has alarmed some, including Roger Noriega who served as the State Department's point-man for Latin America in the first term of the Bush administration.  Now with the American Enterprise Institute, Noriega predicts disaster if Ortega is elected president.

"I really don't see anything positive coming from his victory,” he says. “I think he'll drive away capital, I think he'll have to use strong arm tactics to try to run the country which I think will polarize Nicaragua even further. It will be very, very bad news for the Nicaraguan people and Central America in general."

U.S. Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez recently warned that Nicaragua's free trade agreement with the United States might be jeopardized¹¹ by the victory of what he called a "strongman".  And some Republican Congressmen have called for blocking remittances¹² to Nicaragua if the Sandinista leader wins.

 
Michael Shifter
Michael Shifter believes these calls are counterproductive. "I think sometimes the overreaction with Nicaragua is not very productive for the United States and I think contrasts sharply with the way the U.S. has behaved towards other elections in Latin America which I think has been admirable, restrained, low-key."

But others believe an Ortega victory will have consequences. Roger Noriega says, "I really think he doesn't represent any sort of substantial security threat but it's not unimportant the impact he'll have on Central America."

At the State Department, spokesman Sean McCormack said Thursday whoever is elected president in Nicaragua should be up to the Nicaraguan people. "We're not trying to shade opinion or to try to take a position.  This is a democratic election."

Meanwhile, in Nicaragua, Daniel Ortega is hoping for a first round victory.  He needs to receive just 35 percent of the vote Sunday and be five points ahead of his nearest rival to win the presidency.

1 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

2 prospect   

n.前景，前途；景色，视野

参考例句：

• This state of things holds out a cheerful prospect.事态呈现出可喜的前景。
• The prospect became more evident.前景变得更加明朗了。

3 tune   

n.调子；和谐，协调；v.调音，调节，调整

参考例句：

• He'd written a tune,and played it to us on the piano.他写了一段曲子，并在钢琴上弹给我们听。
• The boy beat out a tune on a tin can.那男孩在易拉罐上敲出一首曲子。

4 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

5 inter   

v.埋葬

参考例句：

• They interred their dear comrade in the arms.他们埋葬了他们亲爱的战友。
• The man who died in that accident has been interred.在那次事故中死的那个人已经被埋葬了。

6 apparatus   

n.装置，器械；器具，设备

参考例句：

• The school's audio apparatus includes films and records.学校的视听设备包括放映机和录音机。
• They had a very refined apparatus.他们有一套非常精良的设备。

7 loyalty   

n.忠诚，忠心

参考例句：

• She told him the truth from a sense of loyalty.她告诉他真相是出于忠诚。
• His loyalty to his friends was never in doubt.他对朋友的一片忠心从来没受到怀疑。

8 overthrew   

overthrow的过去式

参考例句：

• The people finally rose up and overthrew the reactionary regime. 人们终于起来把反动的政权推翻了。
• They overthrew their King. 他们推翻了国王。

9 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

10 overthrow   

v.推翻，打倒，颠覆；n.推翻，瓦解，颠覆

参考例句：

• After the overthrow of the government,the country was in chaos.政府被推翻后，这个国家处于混乱中。
• The overthrow of his plans left him much discouraged.他的计划的失败使得他很气馁。

11 jeopardized   

危及，损害( jeopardize的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The soldier jeopardized his life to save his comrade. 这个士兵冒生命的危险救他的同志。
• The occasional failed project or neglected opportunity does not jeopardized overall progress. 偶然失败的项目或失误的机会并没有影响总的进展。

12 remittances   

n.汇寄( remittance的名词复数 )；汇款，汇款额

参考例句：

• He sends regular remittances to his parents. 他定期汇款给他父母。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Remittances sometimes account for as much as 20% of GDP. 在这些国家中，此类汇款有时会占到GDP的20%之多。 来自互联网