On 10/16/06, Michael Hoover <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
given what ortega tops out at, he won't win a run-off...his perennial
candidacy reflects the dismal state of the fsln (whose legislative
delegation facilitated the passage of cafta in nicaragua)...
i'd vote for jarquin (who had been lewites running mate before his
heart attack)...mostly because fsln booted the now-deceased lewites a
couple of years ago when he gave public indications that he was going
to challenge ortega and because jarquin's running mate is folk singer
carlos mejia godoy...i recognize that neither reason says anything
about policy per se... mh
Here's a major policy difference.
Apparently, Nicaragua is heading into the direction of El Salvador on
abortion, the Total Ban (for which the FMLN voted in El Salvador in
the end), and Ortega supports total criminalization, while Jarquín has
come out in favor of therapeutic abortion.
<blockquote>In the proposed reform bill, the doctors that carried out
that operation would have been liable for 30 years imprisonment. The
bill has support from powerful church groups, both Catholic and
evangelical, as well as from prominent political parties. Notably,
Daniel Ortega, former President and upcoming candidate for the leftist
Frente Sandinista de Liberación Nacional (FSLN), has backed the
reform, calling for the political process to be sped up. The president
of the National Assembly, Sandinista René Núñez, told church leaders,
"We join with you, with the bishops of the Catholic Church in
Nicaragua and with the pastors of the evangelical churches, to seek
the quickest path so that the current Penal Code will be reformed."
("Nicaragua to Ban Abortion," 13 October 2006,
<http://libcom.org/news/nicaragua-to-ban-abortion-13102006>)</blockquote>
<blockquote>Topic 4: Abortion Becomes a Campaign Issue
Four of the five presidential candidates declared themselves against
abortion this week in reaction to a statement by Sandinista Renovation
Movement (MRS) candidate Edmundo Jarquín who last week said he
supported therapeutic abortion. [Under Nicaraguan law, a woman whose
life or health is at risk can obtain a therapeutic abortion with the
signatures of three doctors.] While the candidates stated in general
that they opposed abortion and were "pro-life" they carefully avoided
committing themselves on therapeutic abortion. Jarquín was accused by
both Alternative for Change (AC) candidate Edén Pastora and the FSLN
Alliance vice presidential candidate Jaime Morales of having converted
to European morals after having lived several years in Spain.
Representatives of the Catholic Church also took the opportunity to
reiterate their position against abortion under any circumstances.
"Those who promote the death of a person, of a baby, are murderers,"
said Aberlardo Mata, Bishop of Estelí.
Juana Jiménez, representative of the Women against Violence Network,
defended Jarquín's controversial statement saying that on this issue
the Catholic Church's position should not be followed "because they
will always make their beliefs prevail over women's rights." Jiménez
went on to say that two MRS deputy candidates, Violeta Delgado and
Azahalia Solís, are members of the Autonomous Women's Movement which
is a pro choice organization. ("Nicaragua Network Hotlines for August
23, 2006," <http://www.nicanet.org/hotline.php?id=230#topic4>)</blockquote>
<blockquote><http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6046502.stm>
Friday, 13 October 2006, 01:09 GMT 02:09 UK
Nicaragua eyes new abortion curbs
By Will Grant
BBC Americas editor
Pro-choice demonstrators were snubbed by MPs at a march this week
Nicaragua's parliament has moved closer to reforming the penal code to
extend the ban on abortions to include cases where the mother's life
is at risk.
The reform has been put before its judicial commission, which has 10
days to decide on whether it should be voted on by a full session of
the assembly.
There is grave concern among pro-choice groups that the reform will
become law in the near future.
Chile and Colombia have by contrast been relaxing their own abortion laws.
In 2003, the public prosecutor's office in Nicaragua ruled that an
abortion carried out on a nine-year-old girl who had been raped was
legal, as it had been done in order to save her life.
However, if a proposal put before the parliament's judicial committee
becomes law, the doctors that carried out that abortion could be
sentenced to up to 30 years in prison.
Pro-choice and women's rights groups fear it will indeed become law, and soon.
A march led by key figures from the Catholic and evangelical churches
in Nicaragua supporting reform of the abortion law attracted thousands
of participants while protesters on the counter-march were snubbed by
members of parliament when they arrived at the National Assembly
building.
'Total ban looms'
The anti-abortion lobby can also count on some powerful allies.
Anti-abortion demonstrator in Managua this week - message reads
"Mother, I want to meet you"
One pregnant demonstrator used her stomach to spread her message
The front-runner in the presidential election, Sandinista leader
Daniel Ortega, has expressed his support for the anti-abortion groups
and is in favour of speeding up the process by which this reform is
debated.
The president of the judicial committee, Liberal MP Noel Pereira
Majano, has voiced his opposition to the proposal, calling Nicaraguan
society "mad".
He said they were trying to do something as sensitive as reforming the
abortion law at a time when political passions were running high,
during an election campaign.
However, although Mr Pereira's committee has the power to throw out
the reform, there is no indication that enough of his fellow committee
members share his view to stop it moving forward.
As such, many Nicaraguans fear that the momentum is now behind a
complete ban on abortion.</blockquote>
--
Yoshie
<http://montages.blogspot.com/>
<http://mrzine.org>
<http://monthlyreview.org/>
