Mayor: 'I'm Not a Sandinista' 

 

By Tim Rogers  Nica Times, Friday January 21, 2005

 

Granada - The tension in the streets of Granada was palpable for several weeks following the Nov. 7 municipal elections.

Riot police stood on street corners and looked on as determined Sandinista faithful rallied in front of Alvaro Chamorro's campaign headquarters, vowing to defend his contested mayoral victory "to the ultimate consequences."  Expatriates and foreign tourists sipped beers in a popular restaurant across the street, watching the strident demonstrations with emotions ranging from apprehension to annoyance.

 

 

 

Two vote recounts later, victory went to Chamorro and the Sandinistas by the twiggy margin of 11 ballots. A massive victory caravan flooded through the colonial streets of Granada like a red-and-black river. Chamorro stood on the back of a pickup truck -in midstream- and flashed a victory "V" sign to supporters marching alongside.

When the music died down and the crowd dissipated, the 1,000 expats who live in Granada were left to wonder what a Sandinista victory - the first in this traditionally conservative bastion - means for the future of foreign investment here. Several area business owners dependent on foreign tourism dollars were already grumbling their concerns that the Sandinista victory would spook away US capital and retard progress.

 

Fret not, says Chamorro, who was one of 152 new mayors to take office this week in Nicaragua. "I'm not a Sandinista," Chamorro told the Tico Times during a recent interview. "I'm a Conservative. I always have been, and I always will be." Political labels aside, Chamorro's message at last Sunday's party rally in Granada's Plaza de Independencia sounded very similar to the rhetoric used by Sandinista secretary general Daniel Ortega, who was standing on stage next to him. "My government will have a preferential option for the poor," Chamorro bellowed. "The poor neigborhoods of Granada can't keep living like they do in abandonment." Chamorro said is government will work to involve all citizens in the municipal government by holding monthly popular consultations on different issues.

"The Sandinista Front and Convergence is the party of reconciliation and unity," he told the crowd of several thousand Sandinista supporters. "And yes, the Sandinista Front and Convergence is now in the municipal (government)!"

 

 GRANDA MAYOR TO BE FRIENDS TO INVESTORS

 

In quieter moments, Chamorro insists he has not changed his Conservative Party colors, even though he was elected as the candidate of the Sandinista Convergence - an electoral alliance that includes splinter Liberal and Conservative groups.

"Foreign investors need not worry nor fear (the Sandinista victory," Chamorro, 59, told the Tico Times. "On the contrary, we will work to offer more protection to investors because we are convinced that this is the future of Granada's development and job creation."

Chamorro, who is replacing his brother Luis Geronimo Chamorro as Mayor of Granada, said he plans to hold face-to-face meetings with foreign investors and tourism operators here to alleviate any lingering doubts they may have about the Sandinista victory. He also is planning to offer new investment incentives in the form of tax exonerations and increased judicial security - the details of which are vague.

Chamorro insists he will not be a cog in the Ortega-driven Sandinista machine. And his history as a political maverick appears to support his claim.

 

In 1974, at the young age of 29, Chamorro was elected Mayor of Granada for the first time, despite being the only mayor in the country to openly oppose the Somoza family dynasty, which ruled Nicaragua with an iron fist for more than 40 years. Then, after serving as the Minister of Tourism from 1990-1996 in the transitional government of Violeta Barrios de Chamorro (no relation), Chamorro withdrew to the private sector to work as an investment consultant.

Chamorro describes himself as "ambitious" and says he has a 42-point development plan for Granada, which he hopes to convert into the leading tourist attraction of Central America.

 

Granada is the most-visited tourist spot in Nicaragua. To improve tourist safety, Chamorro - as one of his first acts in office - announced that in February he will inaugurate a new Tourist Police patrol. The new mayor also places great priority on rescuing Lake Nicaragua from continued contamination. He recognizes the importance of the freshwater lake as the future source of drinking water for Nicaragua, and perhaps all Central America, and plans to pass and enforce new environmental policies to protect it. Other items on Chomorro's to-do list include: construct a central bus terminal; finalize a deal to convert Granada's old hospital into a tourism convention center funded by U.S. capital; remodel and relocate the sprawling municipal market; relocate the municipal dump, which is threatening to contaminate Granada's main aquifer; construct a new municipal theater for culture and arts; build a new public sports complex for youth; crack down on gang crime; and build a new zoo and aquarium to showcase aquatic life found in Lake Nicaragua. The new mayor admits his list of goals will be difficult to achieve on an annual municipal budget of $4.3 million. But he plans to use his experience in tourism to generate foreign investment to bankroll the projects.