Irony in Nicaragua

History is riddled with ironies, none more poignant than one that occurred this month in Nicaragua. Twenty years almost to the day after President Ronald Reagan went on television and admitted that the U.S. government had been selling arms to Iran in order to finance the contra rebels trying to overthrow the communist Sandinista government in Nicaragua—the peak moment in the so-called Iran-Contra scandal—the former leader of those very communists, Daniel Ortega, was elected president of his country.

He’s no longer the firebrand of old, however. He’s shed the military fatigues in favor of business suits, made peace with the Catholic Church and even married his longtime lover. He now says he’s committed to respecting private property rights, is busy making alliances in the business community, and has even supported a bill banning abortion.

Whether this shows that Ortega is an opportunist more interested in power than ideology or that he’s truly a changed man, it clearly indicates that Nicaraguans have chosen to take a moderate path to economic and social development. Where the people lead, the leaders will follow.