510. Telegram 2682 From the Embassy in Nicaragua to the Department of State1 2
Subj:
- Archbishop Upsets Political Situation
1. Nicaragua’s ranking prelate Monsenor Obando y Bravo, Archbishop of Managua dropped a bomb on the political scene. During a taped interview broadcast over a local radio station November 18, the Archbishop announced that he would “abstain” from voting in the February 1972 elections because he “cannot see the future clearly.” He expressed a desire that Nicaragua have “governors who know how to govern and who give liberty to the people so they can elect those who are qualified to direct the destiny of the state.” In closing he added: Quote I do not judge the acts of any person in particular but merely express my wish to elect other rulers that will interest themselves in the people, and that the people will be able to elect them. Unquote
2. The Archbishop’s statement shocked almost everyone, especially those participating in the elections. The Conservative Party Spokesman labeled it “unfortunate”; the Liberal Party Secretary “lamented” that the Archbishop was on the wrong road; the Social Christian Party said the Archbishop’s [Page 2] views would be correct if the elections were nothing more than a division of spoils between Liberals and Conservatives under the Kupia Kumi, but if the PSC participated the voters would have the real choice the Archbishop desired. President Somoza confided to the Ambassador that he was “shocked” and did not understand the Archbishop’s action. The opposition La Prensa of course welcomed the Archbishop’s apparent support for its position that voters should abstain because the Kupia Kumi and its elections are a farce.
3. As the news spread and interest increased the government Novedades sought a clarification which it printed on November 19. In it the Archbishop stated that (a) the views expressed were merely his personal opinions and not church policies (b) he did not refer to inscription but merely to voting (c) he did not intend to criticize the Somoza-Aguero pact and (d) he did not wish to involve the church in politics or have his position exploited by those opposed to the pact. However, the Archbishop stuck to his guns and repeatedly stated his intention to abstain from voting for the reasons he had given.
4. Comment: In a situation where the central issue is acceptance of the Somoza-Aguero pact and participation in the elections held under it, the Archbishop’s disclaimers can hardly erase the fact that he has involved himself not only in politics but, even worse, on the side of those opposed to the scheduled elections. Since Obando y Bravo is generally regarded as a moderate, at times conservative, churchman who rarely takes a stand on anything, such statements from him have a particularly puzzling ring and produce a stunning impact. While we doubt that the Archbishop genuinely intended to go as far as his words carried him, it will be difficult for him now to retreat. The full effects of this event are yet to be known, but it has certainly stirred a rather stagnant political pot [Page 3] and may set it to boiling in the weeks ahead.
- Source: National Archives, RG 59, Central Files 1970–73, POL 15–7 NIC. Confidential. Repeated to Guatemala City, San José, San Salvador, Tegucigalpa, and USCINCSO for POLAD. In Airgram A–134 from Managua, November 24, the Embassy reported that the opposition Partido Social Cristiano (PSC) had begun a petition campaign to force the Liberal and Conservative Parties to allow it to participate in the coming elections. (Ibid., POL 12 NIC)↩
- Nicaraguan Archbishop Miguel Obando y Bravo publicly indicated his intention to abstain from the scheduled 1972 Constituent Assembly elections. Nicaragua’s leading opposition newspaper, La Prensa, “welcomed the Archbishop’s apparent support for its position that voters should abstain because the Kupia Kumi and its elections are a farce.”↩