Ortega Begins Campaign to Retake Presidency

A decade after the U.S.-backed Contra war helped force him to end his socialist rule, Daniel Ortega proclaimed himself a changed man and began a campaign to retake Nicaragua’s presidency.

At his opening campaign rally in Puerto Cabezas, Ortega signed a pledge to implement autonomy for Nicaragua’s Caribbean coast, something he fought a bloody war to prevent when he was president.

“We have to admit it. You were not wrong,” Ortega said in a speech delivered to thousands of Miskito Indians--many wearing white “Daniel for President” hats and shirts.

Polls show Ortega with a slight lead over Enrique Bolanos, a former vice president.