Nicaragua Leader Denies Profiting From Public Office

President Arnoldo Aleman on Friday denied that he has profited from his public service, a day after a government report charged that his personal fortune has skyrocketed during his nine years in political posts.

Agustin Jarquin--who is Nicaragua’s comptroller general, the government corruption watchdog and a longtime Aleman nemesis--released a report Thursday showing that from the time Aleman was elected to Managua’s City Council until he became president in 1997, his assets rose from $26,118 to $993,015.

Aleman said his wealth reflects an increase in the value of his property, not new acquisitions.

“I repeat that I have not bought any property since becoming president,” he said at a news conference Friday.

Corruption accusations resound strongly in poverty-stricken Nicaragua because the nation has been bled by corrupt governments for most of this century. Corruption led to the Somoza family dynasty’s overthrow in 1979 by the Marxist Sandinistas.

When in power, the Sandinistas expropriated large expanses of land and fancy houses. When they were voted out of office in 1990, the Sandinistas distributed some properties among their followers and kept select real estate for the private use of leaders in a giveaway known as the pinata.

Asset reports, required when government officials take and leave office as a safeguard against corruption, show that when Aleman was elected to the Managua City Council in 1990, he drove a borrowed car. When he finished his term as mayor, Aleman reported owning eight late-model vehicles.

Still, most of the controversy centers on Aleman’s recent real estate dealings, which are not documented in the reports. Opposition legislators have claimed that Aleman, a lawyer whose practice was mainly real estate cases, pressured farming cooperatives to sell him or his relatives land at below-market prices.

The comptroller’s report issued Thursday said ownership issues are not clear because properties that Aleman had described as his own are registered to a real estate company called Geninsa. The president is not listed among the company founders.

The report recommended that Aleman “explain to the comptroller his acquisitions and sales of goods.”

Instead, Aleman called a news conference Friday and provided detailed listings of all his holdings and how they were acquired.

“I have not increased my wealth any more than that which comes from my work and the careful administration of my inheritance and what I could acquire through the legitimate management of my income,” he said.

As mayor, Aleman earned $55,000 a year; as president, his salary is $113,000.

Special correspondent Acosta reported from Managua and Times staff writer Darling from Guatemala City.