Herty Lewites
Who is Herty Lewites?
Lewites is the popular former mayor of Managua and a member of the leftwing Frente Sandinista de la Liberación Nacional
(FSLN).
Why watch him?
Lewites has caused a major stir in Nicaragua by challenging the veteran leader of the leftwing FSLN, Daniel Ortega, to primary elections to determine who will run for the FSLN in the presidential elections in 2006. His announcement has divided the party.
Age: 65
Place of Birth: Jinotepe.
Background: He is a Nicaraguan-born son of a Polish Jewish immigrant. He studied engineering. A businessman, he owns the popular Hertylandia amusement park and runs Nicaragua's Avis Rent-a-Car.
Timeline
1960: Joined the movement against the US-backed Somoza dictatorship. He was jailed and tortured.
1969: Upon his release he joined the Sandinistas and went to work with guerrilla movements abroad.
1972: Caught in California smuggling guns for the Sandinistas and served a year in prison on weapons-trafficking charges.
1979: Appointed by President Daniel Ortega as minister of tourism. Put in charge of 43 state enterprises and heads the government's public-relations campaign.
1990-1995: Served in congress.
1996: Lost the elections for the mayor of Managua. Set up Hertylandia amusement park.
2001: Returned to public life as the first democratically-elected Sandinista mayor of Managua, winning 44% of the vote.
15 January 2005: Term ended as mayor of Managua. Succeeded by Dionisio Marenco.
Strengths
Lewites is very popular, especially in Managua, and a charismatic figure. Recent opinion polls suggest that he could buck the trend of defeats suffered by the Sandinistas since 1990. He is overwhelmingly more popular than Ortega and the most popular politician in Nicaragua right now. A number of legendary figures have offered their support for Lewites and promised to re-enter the Sandinista fold if he usurps Ortega as the presidential candidate. These include such luminaries as Ernesto Cardenal, the 80-year old iconic revolutionary priest, Luis Carrión Cruz, Henry Ruiz and Víctor Manuel Tirado López, all of whom are former members of the FSLN's national directorate.
Weaknesses
He is running against the president of the FSLN, Daniel Ortega. Ortega exercises full control over the internal party mechanisms. Hardliners in the FSLN along with the Partido Liberal Constitucionalista also control the key state institutions such as the comptroller's office and the judiciary. The FSLN's ethics committee has ruled Lewites unfit to
run as their candidate because he stood for the Movimiento Sol, a group of
dissident activists from within the Sandinista movement, in the Managua mayoral contest. He is now facing corruption allegations from his time in office as mayor of Managua. The speed with which the comptroller's office has responded to the allegations of financial irregularities made against Lewites by his successor, Dionisio Marenco - a close ally of Ortega- is no coincidence.
Prospects
Any challenge to Ortega and the Sandinista party hierarchy is tantamount to heresy. It has traditionally been snuffed out. Lewites is concerned that he will either be imprisoned on trumped up charges of corruption or receive death threats. However, unlike previous challengers to Ortega, Lewites is very popular and very determined. He has already refused to be Ortega's running mate because he is convinced that he is the party's best chance for election in 2006. Although he insists that he admires Ortega and there are no differences between them, his rhetoric sounds a dissonant note. He talks about the need to modernise the party, to normalise relations with the US, and to accept free trade and Central American integration; a brand of Sandinista-lite which stands in marked contrast to the reactionary Danielistas (hardline supporters of Ortega). Lewites has started his campaign. His message: “I don't want my party to lose again in 2006".