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CENTRAL AMERICA |
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Political Violence Leaves One Dead In
Nicaragua
MANAGUA - A Sandinista party member
was killed and an undetermined number of
Liberal Party opposition followers injured
in clashes between rival demonstrators on
highways around Nicaragua Saturday.
Rafael Anibal Luna Ruiz, a 42-year-old
mechanic, died in the northern city of
Ciudad Dario from wounds suffered when he
was hit with stones thrown by opposition
supporters on the highway from Matagalpa to
Esteli.
The Sandinistas were headed to Managua for a
rally in support of President Daniel Ortega,
while the Liberal supporters were returning
from a rally in the capital against him.
Opposition supporters marched in Managua
chanting "Democracy yes, dictatorship no!"
Similar numbers of Sandinista supporters
gathered in a city square on the southern
outskirts of Managua to celebrate the
triumph of the governing party in the
municipal elections of Nov. 9, 2008
victories considered "fraudulent" by the
opposition.
Last month, the Sandinista majority on
Nicaragua's Supreme Court approved a
controversial measure allowing Ortega to run
for re-election in 2011. The six judges who
voted in favor included three who were
summoned as replacements when opposition
magistrates did not attend the session.
The opposition says the ruling is illegal,
as a constitutional change needs to be
approved by the country's congress.
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