Word: nicaragua
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...make that point even clearer, each tree is now topped with an illuminated "30" to mark the 30th anniversary of the victory of The Sandinista National Liberation Front over the repressive U.S.-backed Somoza dynasty. Nicaragua's continual Christmas theme is also appropriate because President Ortega governs Nicaragua a bit like Santa Claus. Not because he is jolly or has a tummy like a bowl full of jelly (Ortega is very serious and has kept in remarkably good shape for a 63-year-old), but because the Sandinista boss uses gifts to keep people in line, and always double checks...
...such naysayers. "We are in the second phase of the revolution," he says, "and we are fighting the same enemies as always - the oligarchy and the gringos." Porras, an Ortega loyalist, is a main architect in the government's constant mobilization and celebration. He insists the streets of Nicaragua belong to the Sandinistas, and must be claimed and occupied in whatever form - through protests, celebrations or tree-decorating parties...
...Sandinista Front for helping him out of drugs and giving him a shot a redemption. Plus, Arguello actually believed in the Sandinistas' message of defending the poor, and he embraced his new role with the fervor of a convert. He referred to the President as his "leader," and said Nicaragua would be "a heaven" if everyone agreed with Ortega...
That love was first and foremost for Nicaragua's poor, out of whose ranks he'd risen. When a desperate father appealed for Arguello's help because he couldn't afford the expensive medical treatment to treat his 8-year-old daughter's leukemia, the fighter made the cause his own and tried to shame two Nicaraguan pharmaceutical companies into providing free treatment. When they hesitated, the champ came out swinging...
...spectacular homecoming for the history books. But after unleashing their M-16s on the protesters surrounding the airport, soldiers blocked the runway with troops and trucks. Zelaya's plane circled the airport at a perilously low height, then zoomed off to neighboring El Salvador, via a refueling stop in Nicaragua. And with Zelaya still in exile, the standoff over Honduras' disputed presidency goes on. (See pictures of the Honduras coup on LIFE.com...