奥特加再次竞选尼加拉瓜总统

  

Ortega Aims for Nicaraguan Presidency¹, Again

Catherine Elton

Managua

8 Aug 2001 14:45 UTC

 

A decade after he was 1)voted out of office in Nicaragua, Sandinista leader Daniel Ortega is asking Nicaraguans to give him another shot at the presidency. His potential comeback in the November 4 presidential election has put an international 2)spotlight on the vote. But, for many Nicaraguans, this race offers little hope for political change.

Twenty-two years to the day after the Sandinista Revolutionary Movement 3)ousted dictator Anastasio Somoza, a crowd estimated at over 100,000 people stood for hours in the driving rain in a Managua park, chanting and singing as they 4)awaited the arrival of Daniel Ortega. The event marked the 5)anniversary of the revolution and the beginning of Mr. Ortega's campaign to win back the presidency.

A man who preferred only to use his first name, Marvin, was among the 6)multitude. He says he supports Mr. Ortega because he sees that in the past 10 years the government hasn't done anything for the working class or the poor. He says Mr. Ortega has always defended the poor. But some political analysts³ say Mr. Ortega is a political strongman, or caudillo, who appeals to the poor with populist 7)rhetoric and showers his most faithful followers⁴ and 8)allies with money and favors.

This time around, Mr. Ortega is facing off against long-time 9)foe, Enrique Bola?os, a 10)candidate for the ruling Liberal Party and one-time vice⁵ president in the current administration.

The most recent polls show Mr. Ortega leading with 11)roughly 39 percent of the vote and Bola?os trailing with around 34 percent. But these polls were taken before the candidate for the third-placed Conservative party and his running mate 12)pulled out, leaving 11 percent of the votes up for grabs.

This presents the voters with a choice between the ruling Liberals, a party whose leader, President Aleman, is widely 13)perceived as corrupt⁶, and the Sandinistas, a party many associate with war, 14)inflation and obligatory⁷ military service.

Political analyst² Carlos Fernando Chamorro, whose mother Violeta Chamorro won the 1990 elections ousting⁸ Mr. Ortega from power, says the failure of any other credible⁹ candidate to emerge is no accident. He says it is the result of a political pact¹⁰ between President Aleman and Mr. Ortega, which enabled the two to divvy up government institutions among political allies. Mr. Chamorro said the pact created a two-party system in which the Liberals and the Sandinistas are the only political options to the 15)exclusion of all others.

This sense of a limited political landscape is lamented¹¹ by some voters in Nicaragua, including taxi driver Edwin Rugama. He says if he votes for the Liberals they'll just continue to rob the nation, and if he votes for the Sandinistas they'll want to make up for the years they haven't been able to rob the nation. Why should we vote, he asks.

Nonetheless surveys don't reflect an 16)abstention rate much higher than 20 percent in a nation with one of the highest voter participation¹² records in the region.

Rather, analysts think most voters will probably go out to vote - but they may well cast their ballot¹³ against the candidate they fear, instead of for the one they believe in.

 

 

(1)      vote out v.在选举中击败

(2)      spotlight[5spRtlaIt]n.聚光灯

(3)      oust[aJst]vt.剥夺, 取代, 驱逐

(4)      await[E5weIt]vt.等候

(5)      anniversary[AnI5v:sErI]n.周年纪念

(6)      multitude[5mQltItju:d; (?@) -tu:d]n.多数, 群众

(7)      rhetoric[5retErIk]adj.花言巧语的

(8)      allies[`AlaIz]n.联盟国, 同盟者

(9)      foe[fEJ]n.反对者, 敌人, 危害物

(10)      candidate[5kAndIdEt; (?@) 5kAndIdeIt]n.候选人, 投考者

(11)      roughly[5rQflI]adv.概略地, 粗糙地

(12)      pull out v.拔出, 离开, 度过难关, 恢复健康

(13)      perceive[pE5si:v]vt.察觉v.感知, 感到, 认识到

(14)      inflation[In5fleIF(E)n]n.通货膨胀, (物价)暴涨

(15)      exclusion[Ik5sklu:V(E)n]n.排除, 除外, 被排除在外的事物

(16)      abstention[Eb5stenF(E)n]n.节制

 

 

1 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

2 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

3 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

4 followers   

追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件

参考例句：

• the followers of Mahatma Gandhi 圣雄甘地的拥护者
• The reformer soon gathered a band of followers round him. 改革者很快就获得一群追随者支持他。

5 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

6 corrupt   

v.贿赂，收买；adj.腐败的，贪污的

参考例句：

• The newspaper alleged the mayor's corrupt practices.那家报纸断言市长有舞弊行为。
• This judge is corrupt.这个法官贪污。

7 obligatory   

adj.强制性的，义务的，必须的

参考例句：

• It is obligatory for us to obey the laws.我们必须守法。
• It is obligatory on every citizen to safeguard our great motherland.保卫我们伟大的祖国是每一个公民应尽的义务。

8 ousting   

驱逐( oust的现在分词 )； 革职； 罢黜； 剥夺

参考例句：

• The resulting financial chaos led to the ousting of Bristol-Myers' s boss. 随后引发的财政混乱导致了百时美施贵宝的总裁下台。
• The ousting of the president has drawn widespread criticism across Latin America and the wider world. 洪都拉斯总统被驱逐时间引起拉丁美洲甚至全世界的广泛批评。

9 credible   

adj.可信任的，可靠的

参考例句：

• The news report is hardly credible.这则新闻报道令人难以置信。
• Is there a credible alternative to the nuclear deterrent?是否有可以取代核威慑力量的可靠办法？

10 pact   

n.合同，条约，公约，协定

参考例句：

• The two opposition parties made an electoral pact.那两个反对党订了一个有关选举的协定。
• The trade pact between those two countries came to an end.那两国的通商协定宣告结束。

11 lamented   

adj.被哀悼的，令人遗憾的v.（为…）哀悼，痛哭，悲伤( lament的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• her late lamented husband 她那令人怀念的已故的丈夫
• We lamented over our bad luck. 我们为自己的不幸而悲伤。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 participation   

n.参与，参加，分享

参考例句：

• Some of the magic tricks called for audience participation.有些魔术要求有观众的参与。
• The scheme aims to encourage increased participation in sporting activities.这个方案旨在鼓励大众更多地参与体育活动。

13 ballot   

n.（不记名）投票，投票总数，投票权；vi.投票

参考例句：

• The members have demanded a ballot.会员们要求投票表决。
• The union said they will ballot members on whether to strike.工会称他们将要求会员投票表决是否罢工。