Tacho & the Election

In his trophy-littered office in the hills above Managua, jowly little Anastasio ("Tacho") Somoza, since 1937 Dictator-President of Nicaragua, smiled a crooked smile. "I understand the opposition is boasting of its Red Cross arrangements for election day and after. If they plan to test me, I advise them to have plenty of Red Crosses." Armed with wisecracks and 5,000 loyal, U.S. Marine-trained soldiers of the Guardia, Tacho was ready for anything.

In his high, lace-hung bed, sick, old (78) Opposition Leader General Emiliano Chamorro glared as fiercely as in the fervid days when he piled up a record of 16 revolutions without a single failure. "He knows my conditions," he snapped. General Chamorro's conditions are: 1) that his Conservatives help count the ballots; 2) that his partisans--barred from preliminary registration--be allowed to vote.

Little Children. Both sides were sure to appeal for U.S. intervention--the opposition to demand a fair shake, the Somozistas to get their victory certified. For about a year, ever since he got the word that the U.S. State Department favored democracy in the banana belt too, Dictator Somoza has been trying to get right with Spruille Braden. Asked last week about charges that he had tyrannized (and plundered) Nicaragua, he replied: "These little countries are like little children. When a boy's sick you've got to force castor oil down him whether he likes it or not. After he's been to the toilet a few times he'll be all right."

The Government-rigged election passed off with a minimum of stabbings and disorder. Results will not be certified until next week, but Somoza claimed victory for his candidate and successor, Dr. Leonardo Augueello, 71, a druggist with a deep-dyed beard. General Chamorro's candidate, Dr. Enoc Aguado, also claimed victory.

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