BY RENATO PEREZ

Jorge Bolaños, son of Nicaraguan President Enrique Bolaños, died of a brain hemorrhage on Wednesday at Baptist Hospital in Kendall. He was 49.

He suffered a stroke in Managua last Friday and was taken to a military hospital there. Because of the seriousness of his condition, he was transported to Miami the following morning for treatment.

President Bolaños flew to Miami Wednesday morning and was by his son's side at the time of death.

Also present was Jorge Bolaños' only child, 13-year-old Valeria.

AGRICULTURAL WORK

Jorge Bolaños, an agronomist, held a master's degree in economics from Tulane University in New Orleans and a doctorate in soil-and-water science.

He worked for 15 years as a general physiologist at the International Center for Maize and Wheat Improvement in Mexico City, and was director of the Central American Maize Research Network, based in Guatemala.

''Jorge was a brilliant professional whose contribution to the development of agriculture in Nicaragua and other Latin American countries was remarkable,'' José Velásquez Escobar, the Nicaraguan consul in Miami, told El Nuevo Herald.

Nicaraguan laws against nepotism prevented Jorge Bolaños from working in government for his father, whose policies on social issues he sometimes criticized publicly.

FRANK PERSONALITY

''Much has been said of Jorge's criticism toward Don Enrique's administration,'' said presidential spokesman Lindolfo Monjarretz to the Managua daily La Prensa.

``But that was part of the frankness and personality that characterized him. On the contrary, he was always there to support his father.''

''He was much beloved by everyone. He spoke with unique frankness, but was careful not to hurt anyone,'' Jorge Bolaños' cousin, Patrick Bolaños, told El Nuevo Herald in a phone interview from Managua.

``Because of his jovial and cheerful nature, he had many friends.''

In addition to his father and daughter, Jorge Bolaños is survived by his mother, Lila, and siblings Enrique, Luciá and Javier.

Visitation will be from noon to 3 p.m. Sunday at the Caballero Rivero Woodlawn funeral home, 11655 SW 117th Ave.

Hector Darío Pastora, press aide at the Nicaraguan Consulate in Miami, said the body will be flown back to Nicaragua on Monday for burial in the city of Masaya, Jorge Bolaños' birthplace.

In a note to the public, issued Wednesday, the Bolaños family asked that no flowers be sent. Rather, donations should be sent to a charity of choice and mourners should pray for the deceased, the note said.

El Nuevo Herald reporter Viviana Muñoz contributed to this report.