VZCZCXYZ0024
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHSO #1176 3121255
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 081255Z NOV 06
FM AMCONSUL SAO PAULO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 6030
INFO RHEHNSC/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHDC IMMEDIATE
RUEHBR/AMEMBASSY BRASILIA PRIORITY 7090
RUEHRI/AMCONSUL RIO DE JANEIRO PRIORITY 7570
RUCPDOC/USDOC WASHDC 2611

UNCLAS SAO PAULO 001176 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE INR/R/MR; IIP/R/MR; WHA/PD 
 
DEPT PASS USTR 
 
USDOC 4322/MAC/OLAC/JAFEE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KMDR OPRC OIIP ETRD BR
SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION: WESTERN HEMISPHERE: NICARAGUA ELECTIONS; 
SAO PAULO 
 
 
¶1. "Tunnel Of Time" 
 
Liberal, largest national circulation daily Folha de S. Paulo 
editorialized (11/8): "Daniel Ortega was elected Nicaragua's 
president 16 years after having left the government. The Sandinista 
Front leader says he has changed, disowns his Marxist past and 
declares himself a pragmatic politician.... However, the White House 
did not believe in Ortega's 'conversion' and openly campaigned for 
Eduardo Montealegre, the liberal-conservative candidate. U.S. 
Ambassador in Nicaragua Paul Trivelli acted like a member of the 
campaign staff, and Florida's Governor Jeb Bush sent a letter to a 
Nicaraguan daily,  warning against the consequences of a Sandinista 
return. Even characters thought to be relegated to Cold War's 
history books, such as Oliver North, reemerged and visited Managua 
to campaign against Ortega.... It is not only the past that sharpens 
the US suspicion vis-`-vis the Sandinistas.  Currently, the links 
between Ortega and Venezuelan President Hugo Chvez are a reason for 
Washington's concern. In fact, the US was not the only one to openly 
intervene in the Nicaraguan elections. Chvez supplied subsidized 
gasoline to Sandinista politicians. The fact is that Ortega won the 
presidential dispute in a democratic election that was monitored by 
international observers. It is expected that the US, which for 
decades has been trying to convince the world about the importance 
of democracy, knows how to respect the election returns and give 
Ortega a chance to govern." 
 
¶2. "Ortega Returns To Power" 
 
 
An editorial in center-right O Estado de S. Paulo commented (11/8): 
"Former dictator Daniel Ortega was elected president of Nicaragua in 
an election that observers from the OAS, the EU and the Carter 
Center considered clean. After three frustrated attempts to return 
to power, Ortega learned with Colonel Hugo Chvez how to mount an 
election without raising suspicions.... [But] Ortega carefully 
avoided any public association with Chvez so that the mistakes 
committed by the Bolivarian leader in Mexico, Peru and Ecuador were 
not repeated.... Last, but not the least, Ortega learned from Chvez 
that elections must be won even before the first ballot is 
deposited. And that everything is valid for that purpose.... But 
Ortega's victory is not only due to the cleverness learned from 
Chvez to mold laws and institutions according to his interests. 
The front runner candidate - who would have certainly won the 
elections - former Managua's Mayor Herty Lewites, died in July.... 
In addition, the US Ambassador's interference - who tried to unify 
the opposition parties - had on voters the same effect that Chvez's 
support produced in Mexico, Peru and Ecuador: led them to vote in 
Ortega.... Daniel Ortega won the elections with a large margin.  And 
now, Colonel Hugo Chvez leads the Caracas-Havana-La Paz-Managua 
axis."   McMullen