Nicaragua's Archbishop calls for unity at Mass attended by president-elect and former rivals
Managua Archbishop Leopoldo Brenes called on Nicaraguans to cast aside their partisan divisions and work to together to improve conditions in the destitute Central American nation.

At a Mass on Sunday attended by President-elect Daniel Ortega and two former candidates in Managua's packed National Cathedral, Brenes used the country's national pastime, baseball, to illustrate the need for national unity a week after presidential elections.

He noted the candidates wore their own uniforms during the campaign, and said they should now work for the common good.

"They must cast off the uniforms of their respective teams and put on the jersey of the Nicaraguan national team," he said.
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Attending the Mass with Sandinista leader Ortega were Eden Pastora, a former Sandinista commander who later led a branch of Contra rebels trying to topple the leftist Sandinistas in the 1980s, and Eduardo Montealegre, a Harvard-educated economist.

Brenes asked the defeated candidates to work "as a team" with the new government.

Pastora, who finished last, promised cooperation and offered to be a "pinch-hitter" who would help Ortega's government when needed. Ortega takes office Jan. 10.

Barefoot children and old women in tatters moved through the standing-room-only congregation, tugging at sleeves for spare change — reminders of the impoverished country Ortega will lead for the second time. The country is the second poorest in the hemisphere after Haiti.

Ortega, who had often-hostile relations with the church and as president in the 1980s expelled a Roman Catholic bishop who said the Contras had the right to fight for their freedom, describes himself now as more Christian than Marxist and has made amends with the church.

Montealegre told The Associated Press that his candidacy was "not only for the presidency but to contribute as best I could to Nicaragua."

During the campaign, he said that all Ortega ever did for Nicaragua was make it poorer.

Montealegre, who gets a seat in the 90-member National Assembly because of his second-place finish, said he would use that office to work for the country.

On Sunday, Brenes said that "all collaboration has its value," and that, "Nicaragua needs the support of all Nicaraguans to move ahead the development and progress of the country."

He urged members of the National Assembly and representatives to the Central American Parliament to return to their home districts to listen to the suggestions and needs of those they represent.

Brenes also spoke privately to Ortega and his former rivals at the altar.

Candidates Edmundo Jarquin, head of a dissident Sandinista group, and Jose Rizo of the Liberal Constitutionalist Party, headed by ex-President Arnoldo Aleman, did not attend the Mass.

Speaking to supporters on Saturday, Ortega laid out some plans for his government, saying he wouldn't support land takeovers like those that occurred after the Sandinistas ousted dictator Anastasio Somoza in 1979, and vowed to give women half the senior posts in his administration.