The level of U.S.
interference in the upcoming Nicaraguan presidential election is much worse
that I previously thought.
I wrote a week ago that based on
the differential in population size between the United States and Nicaragua,
the $5.6 million earmarked by the U.S. State Department to
"assist" in the Nicaraguan presidential election is the equivalent
of a foreign country spending over $356 million to "assist" in a
U.S. presidential election.
However, there is not just a
big difference in population between the two nations. The United
States is incredibly wealthy, and Nicaragua is horribly impoverished, one of
the poorest nations on earth.
In 1999 the U.S. Gross
Domestic Product was $7.6
trillion, 525 times Nicaragua's GDP of $14.6 billion.
So in terms of the impact
that spending $5.6 million in Nicaragua will have, that's the equivalent of
a foreign country spending $2.9 billion to "assist" in a U.S.
presidential election.
Everyone is well aware of the
corrupting effect of money on U.S. politics. Imagine how $2.9 billion
would distort election results in this country.
It will be no less so in
Nicaragua. Since
the United States makes it very clear which candidates it does and does not
want to win in Nicaragua, the money we are spending there is likely to
hinder, not advance, the cause of democracy.
[to oppose U.S. intervention]
