-DATE-
19841115
-YEAR-
1984
-DOCUMENT_TYPE-
MESSAGE
-AUTHOR-
F. CASTRO
-HEADLINE-
CASTRO HAILS ORTEGA ELECTION VICTORY
-PLACE-
CUBA
-SOURCE-
MANAGUA BARRICADA
-REPORT_NBR-
FBIS
-REPORT_DATE-
19841116
-TEXT-
CASTRO HAILS ORTEGA ELECTION VICTORY

PA152244 Managua BARRICADA in Spanish 15 Nov 84 p 4

[Message of congratulations from President Fidel Castro to Nicaraguan
President-elect Daniel Ortega Saavedra; date not given]

[Text] Dear Companero: On behalf of our party, our government, and our
people, I wish to send you our most sincere and warm congratulations for
your election by the Nicaraguan people as president of that sister
republic.

For the first time in many years, the noble and heroic people of Sandino
have had the opportunity to participate in elections in which it was
possible to express their democratic will. The strong support that you and
Companero Sergio Ramirez have received as representatives of the FSLN and
vanguard of the Nicaraguan revolution represents undeniable proof of the
Nicaraguan people's will.

With this, the people's trust in the Sandinist revolution, the democratic
organizations it has created, and those who represent the revolution have
been confirmed. The enthusiastic and firm response of workers, peasants,
and students -- reported by all the news media and which the whole world
was able to see -- represents irrefutable proof of the strictly legal
character of the electoral process and the scrupulous honesty with which
the FSLN handled it. The admirable example given by the Nicaraguan people
when they participated in these elections, amid the military aggressions
and political and economic pressures of all kind exerted by the U.S.
imperialism and its instruments against the Sandinist revolution, is worthy
of praise.

The Nicaraguan reality, the tangible proof ascertained by more than 1,000
observers from differential political ideologies, parties, and
organizations throughout the world, should be enough to silence U.S.
imperialism's spokesman, who are bent on concealing or tarnishing this
undeniable truth. No election has ever drawn so many foreign journalists
and international observers as witnesses of its seriousness and integrity.

Therefore, we consider the 4 November elections a great victory of the
Sandinist revolution, within Nicaragua and abroad. The Nicaraguan elections
saw the participation of 57 percent more voters than in the U.S. elections
of 6 November, and the Sandinist candidacy received a larger percentage of
votes than Reagan did.

The overwhelming support that you and the FSLN have received must be a
serious warning to those who are trying to counter, through a military
aggression, the process of economic, organizational, and political changes
that Nicaragua is carrying out. The support of the Nicaraguan masses will
allow their genuine representatives to continue on the firm road to rebuild
the devastated nation and advance in building a new Nicaragua.

We renew on this joyous and victorious occasion the unwavering solidarity
of the Cuban revolution, and, while congratulating you on your victory, I
send my fraternal embrance.

Fidel Castro Ruz
-END-