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Nicaragua energy crisis could power Sandinista opposition
AFP
MANAGUA
Petroleumworld.com 08 25 06
An acute energy crisis that has repeatedly plunged Nicaragua into darkness in recent months could play into the hands of the leftist opposition, which will soon import oil from Venezuela.
The crisis got so bad that the government this week dropped its objections to deals for cut-rate fuel, which Venezuela's state-run oil company had offered to mayors of the Sandinista party.
President Enrique Bolanos has now dropped his objections to the deal, which he initially denounced as interference by his Venezuelan counterpart Hugo Chavez in Nicaragua's electoral process.
Chavez is seen as supporting Sandinista leader and former president Daniel Ortega, the front-runner ahead of Nicaragua's November 5 presidential election.
"The oil will arrive in a week, so there is no problem, this is resolved," Bolanos told journalists, looking somewhat uneasy.
Former president Arnoldo Aleman, who heads the right-wing Liberal Constitutionalist Party (PLC) also dropped his initial objections to the deal, and took the opportunity to blast Bolanos for his handling of the crisis.
"With don Enrique as president of Nicaragua, we have returned to the dark night of the 1980s" when Orgega ruled the Central American country, said Aleman, who is serving a 20-year house arrest sentence for corruption.
The power outages have worsened over recent weeks leading to violent street protests. On Tuesday about 1,000 villagers in southeastern Nicaragua, armed with sticks and stones, attacked offices of Spain's Union Fenosa power company, blamed by many for the blackouts.
In television spots, Union Fenosa insisted it, too, was victim of power shortages since it does not produce energy, but distributes it.
But Nicaragua's comptroller's office Thursday called for the cancellation of the contract with the Spanish firm, saying it "has not fulfilled its contractual obligations" by failing to supply sufficient energy.
AFP 24 2205 GMT 08 06
Copyright ©2006 AFP. All Rights Reserved.
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