Enrique Bolaños
Encyclopedia
Enrique José Bolaños Geyer (born 13 May 1928) was the President
of Nicaragua
from 10 January 2002 to 10 January 2007. President Bolaños is of Spanish
and German
heritage and was born in Masaya
(department of Masaya
).
He received his education in the United States
, graduating with a Bachelor's degree in Industrial Engineering
from Saint Louis University
in 1962.
He publicly opposed the Sandinista controlled government of the 1980s, resulting in brief imprisonment. His family cotton farming operations, SAIMSA, were confiscated during the first Sandinista administration of the 1980s.
Bolaños served as vice president under his predecessor, Arnoldo Alemán
. On 4 November 2001 he defeated Daniel Ortega
of the Sandinista National Liberation Front
party in the presidential elections and was sworn in as president on 10 January 2002.
He was a member of the Constitutional Liberal Party
(PLC) until he broke with it to help form the Alliance for the Republic
(APRE). At the beginning of his term he led an anti-Corruption campaign against his predecessor and the head of the PLC Arnoldo Alemán
politically isolating himself from the influential Liberal Party. Institutional struggles for power between the legislative, executive and judicial branches resulted in great inefficiency for the Bolaños government.
Enrique Bolaños is an Honorary Member of the International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation.
on 13 May 1928 to Nicolás Bolaños Cortés (1890–1963) and wife Amanda del Rosario Geyer Abaunza, and paternal grandson of Alejandro Bolaños Cuadra (1858–1914) and wife and cousin Cándida Cortés Bolaños (1854–1918). His father, a wealthy businessman, was poisoned by an employee. He was also a maternal relative of Justo Abaunza
, 25th and 27th President of Nicaragua. The Bolaños family has played a minor role in Nicaraguan politics, traditionally associated with the deep-rooted Liberal Party that brought Somoza
dynasty to power in 1939. Bolaños, however, carefully aligned himself with the anti-Somoza Liberal Constitutionalist Party founded by Ramiro Sacasa Guerrero in 1968. The Bolaños family has usually maintained a hands-off approach to Nicaraguan politics, focusing rather on business endeavors.
Enrique Bolaños received his primary and secondary education in Nicaragua, and graduated from Saint Louis University
with a degree in industrial engineering
. He married Lila T. Abaúnza in 1949 and bore five children: Enrique José, Lucía Amanda, Jorge Alejandro (deceased, 2005), Javier Gregorio (deceased, 2007) and Alberto (deceased, 1976).
In 1952 he began a successful agro-production company, SAIMSA (Industrial Agricultural Services of Masaya), which grew to become one of the largest cotton
producers in Central America. Bolaños served as an active member of the influential COSEP (Supreme Council for Private Enterprise), and served as president from 1983-1988. COSEP was an anti-Sandinista institution that focused on promoting free enterprise and limiting governmental interference in the private sector.
Bolaños publicly opposed Daniel Ortega's Sandinista government during the 1980s. He was arrested on 20 October 1981 for having violated censorship laws. One month later he was imprisoned again upon returning from an AIL (Association of Latin American Enterprises) conference in Venezuela
. In July 1982 he was jailed after sponsoring a conference of potential American investors at his cotton plantation in Masaya. Under the government's controversial agrarian reform program SAIMSA was confiscated and reappropriated to small farmers.
After the nationalization of his business, Bolaños worked as a freelance computer programmer until his election to the vice-presidency in 1996.
(UNO, a coalition of multiple anti-Sandinista parties), as he was considered too stubborn and difficult to work with in the context of democratization and national reconciliation. Violeta Chamorro
was chosen instead.
In 1996 Bolaños was chosen by presidential candidate and former mayor of Managua Arnoldo Alemán
as vice-presidential candidate for the PLC (Liberal Constitutionalist Party). Bolaños was also elected as campaign manager for the Liberal Party in the 1996 elections. Alemán defeated Ortega with 51% of the vote, and Alemán and Bolaños were sworn in as president and vice president, respectively, on 10 January 1997. During his tenure as vice president
, Bolaños kept a discrete profile even with rising allegations of corruption against Alemán and many members of his cabinet.
Following the devastation of Hurricane Mitch
in 1998, Bolaños was responsible for the management of foreign aid. He spearheaded a movement to review and redact Nicaragua’s laws concerning the prevention and management of natural disasters.
La Prensa
and other Nicaraguan newspapers have since reported that Alemán chose Bolaños as an interim president. Because the Nicaraguan constitution forbids consecutive presidential terms, it is believed that Alemán sought a candidate who could be easily manipulated, allowing him to govern from behind the scenes until the 2006 elections, when he would seek re-election. Alemán has denied these allegations.
While Bolaños had the support of the powerful PLC, he was widely regarded as an American “puppet” candidate and was also seen as apathetic and lacking charisma. Many voters saw him as a weak public figure, particularly because he had failed to speak out against the rampant corruption present during Alemán’s tenure as president. Daniel Ortega, the main opposition candidate, commonly referred to Bolaños as a “candidate for the wealthy” and a “senile” old man unfit for office. He was nicknamed by some “bola de años” a pun on his surname literally translated as “ball of years.”
In August 2001 he publicly denounced corruption in the presidency, distancing himself from Alemán without publicly attacking him. Bolaños also accused Daniel Ortega of “destroying” the country’s economy during the 1980s and criticized his close ties to Fidel Castro
, Hugo Chávez
and Muammar al-Gaddafi
.
Public polls showed Ortega and Bolaños virtually tied up to the elections held on 5 November 2001. On election day, a massive 90% voter turnout overburdened the polls. Some Nicaraguans waited in line for as much as 10 hours before casting their vote. Bolaños won the presidential elections with 56.3% of the vote, Daniel Ortega received 42.3% and Conservative Party
candidate Alberto Saborio received 1.4%. International observers from the United States, United Nations
and Europe declared the elections clean and fair, and there was no violence and minimal public disturbance during the elections.
Enrique Bolaños was sworn in as President of the Republic of Nicaragua on 10 January 2002 to serve a five year term (2002–2007). Two days later, he began an anti-corruption campaign to investigate and prosecute all former and current state employees who engaged in corrupt behavior.
Arnoldo Alemán, then serving as a member of the National Assembly and the Central American Parliament
, was formally charged with corruption in December 2002, and was stripped of his parliamentary immunity. Alemán, along with some family members and other high-ranking party officials, was convicted of money laundering
, embezzlement
of over $100,000,000 and corruption. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison from which he was recently released.
Immediately following the prosecution of Alemán, Bolaños was kicked out of the PLC the party which Alemán still retains strong influence over and helped to form another political party, APRE (Alliance for the Republic
).
In September 2005 Bolaños publicly announced what he called a “slow motion coup” by the joint efforts of the PLC and the FSLN. The executive branch was partially stripped of its powers to appoint ministers and public officials, but with backing from the international community, particularly the OAS, the EU and the United States, any constitutional changes were postponed until the following year http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4329688.stm http://www.sciencedaily.com/upi/?feed=TopNews&article=UPI-1-20051011-09331600-bc-nicaragua-politics.xml. This reversal coincided with passage of the CAFTA by the Nicaraguan legislature http://news.moneycentral.msn.com/provider/providerarticle.asp?feed=AP&Date=20051011&ID=5178952.
Bolaños has been frequently criticized for his previous close ties to Alemán. It has been argued that during his term Bolaños received a substantial pension from his tenure as vice-president, as well as a $300,000 a year salary for the presidency. However, the monthly presidential salary was reduced at the outset of the Bolanos administration, and the pension from his tenure as vice-president was eliminated by the National Assembly.
Bolaños attempted to work closely with the International Monetary Fund
and the World Bank
in attempts to reduce Nicaragua’s foreign debt by means of cooperation with Structural Adjustment Programs. He also created a long-term National Development Plan meant to reduce poverty and diversify Nicaragua’s traditionally agriculture dominated economy.
In the 2006 presidential election campaign Bolaños' Alliance for the Republic party joined the Nicaraguan Liberal Alliance
, whose candidate Eduardo Montealegre
took second place.
Bolaños turned over the presidency to his longtime political opponent Daniel Ortega
on 10 January 2007. By nature of his status as outgoing President, he was legally entitled to a seat in the new session of the National Assembly
, but has since remained out of the political arena and never assumed his seat. He also faced a series of verbal allegations from opposition party members ranging from mismanagement of public funds to human trafficking, however evidence was never presented and he was never formally accused at the courts nor charged. Bolaños argued that the accusations were false, politically-motivated.
President of Nicaragua
The position of President of Nicaragua was created in the Constitution of 1854. From 1825 until the Constitution of 1838 the title of the position was known as Head of State and from 1838 to 1854 as Supreme Director .-Heads of State of Nicaragua within the Federal Republic of Central America...
of Nicaragua
Nicaragua
Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...
from 10 January 2002 to 10 January 2007. President Bolaños is of Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
and German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
heritage and was born in Masaya
Masaya
Masaya, culturally known as the City of Flowers, is the capital city of Masaya department. It is situated approximately 14 km west of Granada and 31 km southeast from Managua. The town of Masaya is situated just East of Masaya Volcano , an active volcano from which the city takes its name...
(department of Masaya
Masaya (department)
Masaya is a department in Nicaragua. It is the country's smallest department by area and has a population of 317,500 . The capital is the city of Masaya.-Municipalities:# Catarina# La Concepción# Masatepe# Masaya# Nandasmo...
).
He received his education in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, graduating with a Bachelor's degree in Industrial Engineering
Industrial engineering
Industrial engineering is a branch of engineering dealing with the optimization of complex processes or systems. It is concerned with the development, improvement, implementation and evaluation of integrated systems of people, money, knowledge, information, equipment, energy, materials, analysis...
from Saint Louis University
Saint Louis University
Saint Louis University is a private, co-educational Jesuit university located in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Founded in 1818 by the Most Reverend Louis Guillaume Valentin Dubourg SLU is the oldest university west of the Mississippi River. It is one of 28 member institutions of the...
in 1962.
He publicly opposed the Sandinista controlled government of the 1980s, resulting in brief imprisonment. His family cotton farming operations, SAIMSA, were confiscated during the first Sandinista administration of the 1980s.
Bolaños served as vice president under his predecessor, Arnoldo Alemán
Arnoldo Alemán
José Arnoldo Alemán Lacayo was the 81st President of Nicaragua from 10 January 1997 to 10 January 2002.-Biography:Alemán was born in Managua and received his early education at the La Salle institute in Managua...
. On 4 November 2001 he defeated Daniel Ortega
Daniel Ortega
José Daniel Ortega Saavedra is a Nicaraguan politician and revolutionary, currently serving as the 83rd President of Nicaragua, a position that he has held since 2007. He previously served as the 79th President, between 1985 and 1990, and for much of his life, has been a leader in the Sandinista...
of the Sandinista National Liberation Front
Sandinista National Liberation Front
The Sandinista National Liberation Front is a socialist political party in Nicaragua. Its members are called Sandinistas in both English and Spanish...
party in the presidential elections and was sworn in as president on 10 January 2002.
He was a member of the Constitutional Liberal Party
Constitutional Liberal Party
The Constitutionalist Liberal Party is an opposition political party in Nicaragua. At the legislative elections, held on 5 November 2006, the party won 25 of 92 seats in the National Assembly....
(PLC) until he broke with it to help form the Alliance for the Republic
Alliance for the Republic
The Alliance for the Republic is a right-wing liberal-conservative Nicaraguan political party founded in 2004 by dissident liberals from the Constitutional Liberal Party and the Conservative Party including Enrique Bolaños, who was President of Nicaragua at the time.APRE won 3 major offices in...
(APRE). At the beginning of his term he led an anti-Corruption campaign against his predecessor and the head of the PLC Arnoldo Alemán
Arnoldo Alemán
José Arnoldo Alemán Lacayo was the 81st President of Nicaragua from 10 January 1997 to 10 January 2002.-Biography:Alemán was born in Managua and received his early education at the La Salle institute in Managua...
politically isolating himself from the influential Liberal Party. Institutional struggles for power between the legislative, executive and judicial branches resulted in great inefficiency for the Bolaños government.
Enrique Bolaños is an Honorary Member of the International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation.
Biography
Enrique Bolaños was born in MasayaMasaya
Masaya, culturally known as the City of Flowers, is the capital city of Masaya department. It is situated approximately 14 km west of Granada and 31 km southeast from Managua. The town of Masaya is situated just East of Masaya Volcano , an active volcano from which the city takes its name...
on 13 May 1928 to Nicolás Bolaños Cortés (1890–1963) and wife Amanda del Rosario Geyer Abaunza, and paternal grandson of Alejandro Bolaños Cuadra (1858–1914) and wife and cousin Cándida Cortés Bolaños (1854–1918). His father, a wealthy businessman, was poisoned by an employee. He was also a maternal relative of Justo Abaunza
Justo Abaunza
Justo Abaunza y Muñoz de Avilés was a Nicaraguan politician, and was twice temporary and acting 25th and 27th President of Nicaragua from 1 April to 5 May 1851 and again from 4 August to 11 November 1851....
, 25th and 27th President of Nicaragua. The Bolaños family has played a minor role in Nicaraguan politics, traditionally associated with the deep-rooted Liberal Party that brought Somoza
Somoza
The Somoza family was an influential political dynasty who ruled Nicaragua as an hereditary dictatorship. Their influence exceeded their combined 43 years in the de facto presidency, as they were the power behind the other presidents of the time through their control of the National Guard...
dynasty to power in 1939. Bolaños, however, carefully aligned himself with the anti-Somoza Liberal Constitutionalist Party founded by Ramiro Sacasa Guerrero in 1968. The Bolaños family has usually maintained a hands-off approach to Nicaraguan politics, focusing rather on business endeavors.
Enrique Bolaños received his primary and secondary education in Nicaragua, and graduated from Saint Louis University
Saint Louis University
Saint Louis University is a private, co-educational Jesuit university located in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Founded in 1818 by the Most Reverend Louis Guillaume Valentin Dubourg SLU is the oldest university west of the Mississippi River. It is one of 28 member institutions of the...
with a degree in industrial engineering
Industrial engineering
Industrial engineering is a branch of engineering dealing with the optimization of complex processes or systems. It is concerned with the development, improvement, implementation and evaluation of integrated systems of people, money, knowledge, information, equipment, energy, materials, analysis...
. He married Lila T. Abaúnza in 1949 and bore five children: Enrique José, Lucía Amanda, Jorge Alejandro (deceased, 2005), Javier Gregorio (deceased, 2007) and Alberto (deceased, 1976).
In 1952 he began a successful agro-production company, SAIMSA (Industrial Agricultural Services of Masaya), which grew to become one of the largest cotton
Cotton
Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective capsule, around the seeds of cotton plants of the genus Gossypium. The fiber is almost pure cellulose. The botanical purpose of cotton fiber is to aid in seed dispersal....
producers in Central America. Bolaños served as an active member of the influential COSEP (Supreme Council for Private Enterprise), and served as president from 1983-1988. COSEP was an anti-Sandinista institution that focused on promoting free enterprise and limiting governmental interference in the private sector.
Bolaños publicly opposed Daniel Ortega's Sandinista government during the 1980s. He was arrested on 20 October 1981 for having violated censorship laws. One month later he was imprisoned again upon returning from an AIL (Association of Latin American Enterprises) conference in Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
. In July 1982 he was jailed after sponsoring a conference of potential American investors at his cotton plantation in Masaya. Under the government's controversial agrarian reform program SAIMSA was confiscated and reappropriated to small farmers.
After the nationalization of his business, Bolaños worked as a freelance computer programmer until his election to the vice-presidency in 1996.
Early political career
In the 1990 elections, Bolaños was denied presidential candidacy for the National Opposition UnionNational Opposition Union
National Opposition Union was a wide-range cartel of opposition parties formed to contest Nicaragua's president Daniel Ortega in 1990 election. Its candidate Violeta Chamorro eventually won the race...
(UNO, a coalition of multiple anti-Sandinista parties), as he was considered too stubborn and difficult to work with in the context of democratization and national reconciliation. Violeta Chamorro
Violeta Chamorro
Violeta Barrios Torres de Chamorro is a Nicaraguan political leader, former president and publisher. She became president of Nicaragua on April 25, 1990, when she unseated Daniel Ortega...
was chosen instead.
In 1996 Bolaños was chosen by presidential candidate and former mayor of Managua Arnoldo Alemán
Arnoldo Alemán
José Arnoldo Alemán Lacayo was the 81st President of Nicaragua from 10 January 1997 to 10 January 2002.-Biography:Alemán was born in Managua and received his early education at the La Salle institute in Managua...
as vice-presidential candidate for the PLC (Liberal Constitutionalist Party). Bolaños was also elected as campaign manager for the Liberal Party in the 1996 elections. Alemán defeated Ortega with 51% of the vote, and Alemán and Bolaños were sworn in as president and vice president, respectively, on 10 January 1997. During his tenure as vice president
Vice President of Nicaragua
Vice President of Nicaragua is the second highest political position in Nicaragua. According to the current constitution, vice president in elected in the same ticket as president.-Deputy Chief of State 1826-1838:...
, Bolaños kept a discrete profile even with rising allegations of corruption against Alemán and many members of his cabinet.
Following the devastation of Hurricane Mitch
Hurricane Mitch
Hurricane Mitch was the most powerful hurricane and the most destructive of the 1998 Atlantic hurricane season, with maximum sustained winds of 180 mph . The storm was the thirteenth tropical storm, ninth hurricane, and third major hurricane of the season. Along with Hurricane Georges, Mitch...
in 1998, Bolaños was responsible for the management of foreign aid. He spearheaded a movement to review and redact Nicaragua’s laws concerning the prevention and management of natural disasters.
2001 presidential elections
Bolaños was chosen as the presidential candidate for the 2001 elections at the Grand Convention of the Constitutionalist Liberal Party (PLC) meeting in 2001. Former President Arnoldo Alemán handpicked Bolaños as his successor.La Prensa
La Prensa (Managua)
La Prensa is a Nicaraguan newspaper, with offices in the capital Managua. Its current daily circulation is placed at 42,000.-Early years:La Prensa was founded by Pedro Belli, Gavry Rivas and Enrique Belli on March 2, 1926...
and other Nicaraguan newspapers have since reported that Alemán chose Bolaños as an interim president. Because the Nicaraguan constitution forbids consecutive presidential terms, it is believed that Alemán sought a candidate who could be easily manipulated, allowing him to govern from behind the scenes until the 2006 elections, when he would seek re-election. Alemán has denied these allegations.
While Bolaños had the support of the powerful PLC, he was widely regarded as an American “puppet” candidate and was also seen as apathetic and lacking charisma. Many voters saw him as a weak public figure, particularly because he had failed to speak out against the rampant corruption present during Alemán’s tenure as president. Daniel Ortega, the main opposition candidate, commonly referred to Bolaños as a “candidate for the wealthy” and a “senile” old man unfit for office. He was nicknamed by some “bola de años” a pun on his surname literally translated as “ball of years.”
In August 2001 he publicly denounced corruption in the presidency, distancing himself from Alemán without publicly attacking him. Bolaños also accused Daniel Ortega of “destroying” the country’s economy during the 1980s and criticized his close ties to Fidel Castro
Fidel Castro
Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz is a Cuban revolutionary and politician, having held the position of Prime Minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976, and then President from 1976 to 2008. He also served as the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba from the party's foundation in 1961 until 2011...
, Hugo Chávez
Hugo Chávez
Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías is the 56th and current President of Venezuela, having held that position since 1999. He was formerly the leader of the Fifth Republic Movement political party from its foundation in 1997 until 2007, when he became the leader of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela...
and Muammar al-Gaddafi
Muammar al-Gaddafi
Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar Gaddafi or "September 1942" 20 October 2011), commonly known as Muammar Gaddafi or Colonel Gaddafi, was the official ruler of the Libyan Arab Republic from 1969 to 1977 and then the "Brother Leader" of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya from 1977 to 2011.He seized power in a...
.
Public polls showed Ortega and Bolaños virtually tied up to the elections held on 5 November 2001. On election day, a massive 90% voter turnout overburdened the polls. Some Nicaraguans waited in line for as much as 10 hours before casting their vote. Bolaños won the presidential elections with 56.3% of the vote, Daniel Ortega received 42.3% and Conservative Party
Conservative Party of Nicaragua
The Conservative Party is a conservative political party in Nicaragua.The party's colour is green and its emblem is a torch of freedom in a circle. Its slogan is “Dios, Orden, Justicia” , often depicted on the three sides of a triangle.-History:The conservative party is the oldest currently...
candidate Alberto Saborio received 1.4%. International observers from the United States, United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
and Europe declared the elections clean and fair, and there was no violence and minimal public disturbance during the elections.
Presidency
Arnoldo Alemán, then serving as a member of the National Assembly and the Central American Parliament
Central American Parliament
The Central American Parliament , also known as PARLACEN is a political institution devoted to the integration of the Central American countries. Its headquarters are in Guatemala City....
, was formally charged with corruption in December 2002, and was stripped of his parliamentary immunity. Alemán, along with some family members and other high-ranking party officials, was convicted of money laundering
Money laundering
Money laundering is the process of disguising illegal sources of money so that it looks like it came from legal sources. The methods by which money may be laundered are varied and can range in sophistication. Many regulatory and governmental authorities quote estimates each year for the amount...
, embezzlement
Embezzlement
Embezzlement is the act of dishonestly appropriating or secreting assets by one or more individuals to whom such assets have been entrusted....
of over $100,000,000 and corruption. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison from which he was recently released.
Immediately following the prosecution of Alemán, Bolaños was kicked out of the PLC the party which Alemán still retains strong influence over and helped to form another political party, APRE (Alliance for the Republic
Alliance for the Republic
The Alliance for the Republic is a right-wing liberal-conservative Nicaraguan political party founded in 2004 by dissident liberals from the Constitutional Liberal Party and the Conservative Party including Enrique Bolaños, who was President of Nicaragua at the time.APRE won 3 major offices in...
).
In September 2005 Bolaños publicly announced what he called a “slow motion coup” by the joint efforts of the PLC and the FSLN. The executive branch was partially stripped of its powers to appoint ministers and public officials, but with backing from the international community, particularly the OAS, the EU and the United States, any constitutional changes were postponed until the following year http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4329688.stm http://www.sciencedaily.com/upi/?feed=TopNews&article=UPI-1-20051011-09331600-bc-nicaragua-politics.xml. This reversal coincided with passage of the CAFTA by the Nicaraguan legislature http://news.moneycentral.msn.com/provider/providerarticle.asp?feed=AP&Date=20051011&ID=5178952.
Bolaños has been frequently criticized for his previous close ties to Alemán. It has been argued that during his term Bolaños received a substantial pension from his tenure as vice-president, as well as a $300,000 a year salary for the presidency. However, the monthly presidential salary was reduced at the outset of the Bolanos administration, and the pension from his tenure as vice-president was eliminated by the National Assembly.
Bolaños attempted to work closely with the International Monetary Fund
International Monetary Fund
The International Monetary Fund is an organization of 187 countries, working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world...
and the World Bank
World Bank
The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans to developing countries for capital programmes.The World Bank's official goal is the reduction of poverty...
in attempts to reduce Nicaragua’s foreign debt by means of cooperation with Structural Adjustment Programs. He also created a long-term National Development Plan meant to reduce poverty and diversify Nicaragua’s traditionally agriculture dominated economy.
In the 2006 presidential election campaign Bolaños' Alliance for the Republic party joined the Nicaraguan Liberal Alliance
Nicaraguan Liberal Alliance
The Nicaraguan Liberal Alliance is a political party in Nicaragua. It was started in 2005 by Eduardo Montealegre and other members of the Constitutional Liberal Party who opposed former President of the country Arnoldo Alemán's continued control of the PLC even after he had been found guilty of...
, whose candidate Eduardo Montealegre
Eduardo Montealegre
Eduardo Montealegre is a Nicaraguan politician. He ran for president in the 2006 general election as the candidate of the Nicaraguan Liberal Alliance a spin-off of the Constitutional Liberal Party in alliance with other liberal parties and the Conservative Party...
took second place.
Bolaños turned over the presidency to his longtime political opponent Daniel Ortega
Daniel Ortega
José Daniel Ortega Saavedra is a Nicaraguan politician and revolutionary, currently serving as the 83rd President of Nicaragua, a position that he has held since 2007. He previously served as the 79th President, between 1985 and 1990, and for much of his life, has been a leader in the Sandinista...
on 10 January 2007. By nature of his status as outgoing President, he was legally entitled to a seat in the new session of the National Assembly
National Assembly of Nicaragua
The National Assembly is the legislative branch of the government of Nicaragua.-Composition:The Nicaraguan legislature is a unicameral body....
, but has since remained out of the political arena and never assumed his seat. He also faced a series of verbal allegations from opposition party members ranging from mismanagement of public funds to human trafficking, however evidence was never presented and he was never formally accused at the courts nor charged. Bolaños argued that the accusations were false, politically-motivated.
External links
- Biography and tenure by CIDOB Foundation (in Spanish)