Nicaraguan court awards
Ortega right to run again


To no one's surprise, the Nicaraguan supreme court said Monday that Daniel Ortega, the Sandinista leader, can run for another term as president of the country. The ruling also applies to the heavily Sandinista mayors and other local officials.

The Nicaraguan court threw out a section of the constitution that limited presidents to two non-consecutive terms.

The next presidential election is in 2011.

Ortega narrowly won election in 2007 because the opposition was split. But having had time to consolidate his base, he would likely win.

He is following on the heels of his leftist ally, Hugo Chávez of Venezuela, who engineered a constitutional change there that allows him multiple terms in office. Evo Morales of Bolivia and Rafael Correa of Ecuador also have gained the right to seek multiple terms. José Manuel Zelaya of Honduras was ejected from the country June 28 because opponents said he wanted to change the constitution so he could run again.

In Colombia, Álvaro Uribe also won a second term.

Being president may be good for Ortega, but developers and businessmen are suffering because international investors are reluctant to invest in the country where their property might not be secure. Developers along the country's Pacific coast also are having trouble attracting U.S. tourists and homebuyers.


No chestnuts are roasting,
but Christmas is here


There's no snow on the ground, and the municipality has not put the lights up, but one sure sign that the Christmas season is here is the release of the tickets for the Gordo Navidaño, the big lottery.

The Junta de Protección Social de San Jose said the winners will be picked Dec. 13. This is a big event that circulates among the various major cities. Nearly the entire nation is watching television when a lottery worker picks a single ball from a roulette-type basket to represent the series. At the same time a second worker picks a ball representing the two-digit number. And a third worker picks a ball that represents the prize.

Top prize this year will go to three holders with the same numbered ticket. Prizes total $23.1 million with big winners getting more than $1 million each.

The remainder of the money goes to various social organizations. The Junta is a government agency.

This year the price of a ticket has gone up. A full sheet of 40 tickets with the same series and number will cost 40,000 colons or about $70. Frequently a ticket is split up into pieces, sometimes among communities. When one of those tickets gets the big prize, the community has an extended party.


Environmental judges reply
to legislative blockade


The nation's environmental judges have counterattacked against lawmakers who fear increasing the agency's power.

Those who do not violate the environmental laws have nothing to fear," said José Lino Chaves in a release. He is president of the Tribunal Ambiental Administrativo. This is the agency that has been closing down developments and businesses for alleged environmental problems.

Lawmakers are considering a bill that would increase the power of the tribunal.

Carlos Federico Tinoco, a Liberación Nacional legislative deputy, has blocked adoption of the proposal for now, the Tribunal noted. The tribunal president said it appears that Tinoco was hearing the fears of people who might be affected by the Tribunal because they are violators.

The tribunal is an agency of the Ministerio de Ambiente, Energía y Telecomunicaciones. That relationship would remain but the tribunal would gain more independence of action under the proposed law. The tribunal also would have the power to make notations on the property records at the Registro National so that a potential buyer would know that a property was involved in some type of enviornmental dispute.

The proposal also would make files on environmental violators public. In addition those who violate the environmental laws would be prohibited from obtaining other permissions and permits for six months.

A big sticking point for lawmakers is that the proposal would open up the election of judges to the tribunal into a public process instead of being confined to the legislative halls.


Four held in eight robberies
of bar patrons at gunpoint


Agents have detained four young men who are suspects in a string of robberies of bar patrons in the San Pedro, San Francisco de Dos Rios and Desamparados areas.

The men 18, 19, 19 and 20 were detained in raids at their homes Monday. The raids were in San Miguel and Los Guidos, both Desamparados.

The bandits, two each on a motorcycle, would confront patrons leaving bars and other nightspots, hold them at gunpoint, take their belongings and even sometimes take their clothes, said agents.

Agents recovered a number of cell telephones, clothes and car radios, said the Judicial Investigating Organization. Also found was a 9-mm pistol, agents said.

The judicial police said that at least eight cases have been reported but that they are expecting the arrests to generate more complaints. The 18 year old was a juvenile when the crimes took place, agents said. He will face a juvenile process.