MANAGUA, Nicaragua (CNS) -- Archbishop Leopoldo Brenes Solorzano of Managua criticized the decision by the Millennium Challenge Corp. to suspend a U.S. aid program over concerns about the results of nationwide municipal elections.

Archbishop Brenes, president of the Nicaraguan bishops' conference, warned that suspending the poverty reduction program would affect the poorest people of the nation.

"It's pathetic (the suspension of the program), because we are a poor country, and we always need every bit of this aid," he said after a Nov. 30 Mass in Managua.

John Danilovich, chief executive of the Millennium Challenge Corp., a U.S. government corporation designed to work with some of the poorest countries in the world, ordered the agency to re-evaluate its $175 million aid package to Nicaragua.

"I am not satisfied that the electoral process in Nicaragua has been conducted in accordance with the principles upon which MCC awards and delivers grants to reduce poverty," said a statement from the organization Nov. 24. It said projects already under contract would continue, but that any new disbursements would be suspended until further notice.

Archbishop Brenes previously had said people felt defrauded by the Nov. 9 election results, which favored supporters of Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega.

Ortega allies were declared winners in 94 of 146 municipalities, including Managua and the second-largest city, Leon. Government opponents have charged that results in many cities were rigged, based on irregularities in tallies and the government's exclusion of foreign and many local election observers.

In responding to Danilovich's action, Archbishop Brenes warned that when such aid programs are canceled, people are put out of work.

"Hopefully this will be reconsidered, for the good of Nicaragua and for the families that will be without employment," he said.

Danilovich's statement said the agency's board of directors would discuss Nicaragua's eligibility and program at a Dec. 11 meeting. The corporation requires that a recipient country show a commitment to policies that promote political and economic freedom, investments in people, control of corruption and respect for civil liberties and the rule of law.

The five-year grant to Nicaragua approved in 2005 aims to increase the personal income of rural farmers and entrepreneurs in the departments of Leon and Chinandega.

Ortega's government downplayed the suspension of the Millennium Challenge aid and accused Washington of trying to manipulate internal Nicaraguan politics.

© 2008 Catholic News Service /U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops