The return of Daniel Ortega

By Michael J.W. Stickings

Reagan is dead and Ortega is back in power. So much for America's influence in the Americas. Ortega's victory is something of "an embarrassing setback for the Bush administration," which sought to keep him out of power, but of course so much of Latin America has drifted to the left and away from the U.S. in recent years. There may be many reasons for this development, but the emergence of widespread anti-Americanism in America's own backyard -- remember the Monroe Doctrine? -- surely owes much to Bush's arrogance, recklessness, and perceived military and economic imperialism. One needn't be an ally of Hugo Chavez to be concerned about, and to act out against, the realization of Bush's global aspirations.