Reuters
Source: Reuters
Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega’s appearance at a public event on Monday looking frail and confused has reignited speculation among analysts about who, especially among his family, is next in line to succeed the Sandinista leader, who turns 81 years old on Wednesday.
The question of succession will test whether the system Ortega has built over nearly two decades will survive its founder, and whether reforms aimed at cementing his and his wife’s grip on power will endure.
Analysts say leading political heirs are shaping up to be Rosario Murillo, 75, Ortega’s wife and the country’s co-president, or her son with Ortega, Laureano Ortega Murillo, 43.
Ortega, the longest-serving leader in the Americas, reappeared alongside Murillo at a televised event in Managua after more than two months out of public view, one of his longest breaks from the spotlight.
It was a memorial tribute to Carlos Fonseca, founder of the Sandinista National Liberation Front that toppled Anastasio Somoza in 1979, clearing the way for Ortega to take power.
As Ortega addressed cheering crowds, he appeared to speak to a bouquet of roses in his right hand, oblivious to the lapel microphone pinned to his white shirt.
