The Construction of Democracy in Nicaragua

Abstract

This article, written in 1989, goes to press immediately following the 1990 election—Nicaragua's second such election; the 1989-1990 campaign itself is not covered in detail. While the election was held under siege from the U.S. and resulted in the victory of the anti-Sandinista opposition, the electoral process owes its integrity to the Sandinista revolution, which has been committed to the construction of democracy since 1979. In the words of President Ortega one week after the election, "Of course, the FSLN as a political party fought with all its strength and organizational capacity. But the most global objective of the FSLN has not been simply to win elections as a party, but to open up political space which has never before existed in Nicaragua, to enable the people of Nicaragua to choose between different options. So the great victory of the FSLN, of the revolution, of the people of Nicaragua, is that with these elections we are reaffirming democracy for Nicaragua. " It is to be hoped that the democratic guarantees established by the Sandinista revolution and institutionalized in Nicaragua's constitution will not be violated by the new government and its U.S. sponsors.

Changes in support for Nicaragua’s Sandinista National Liberation Front during democratic backsliding

“…Elite infighting (Martí and Puig, 2008, 2009; Mahoney, 2001), powerful caudillos (Close and Deonandan, 2008; Colburn and Cruz, 2012; Feinberg and Kurtz-Phelan, 2006; Martí and Puig, 2010; Thaler, 2017; Walker and Wade, 2011), foreign interventions (Jonas and Stein, 1990; Prevost, 1995; Walker, 2000; Walker and Wade, 2011; Williams, 1990, 1994), and dependence on coffee exports (Paige, 1997) have contributed to the enduring presence of authoritarianism in Nicaragua.…”

“…The 1979 FSLN revolution laid the groundwork for limited liberalization (Jonas and Stein, 1990; Williams, 1990, 1994). As the country suffered from a bloody civil war, divisions within the ruling coalition quickly led to the concentration of power in the hands of the FSLN.…”

Popular versus liberal democracy in Nicaragua and Tanzania?

“…The supposed linchpins of local democratization, the CDSs, had become defunct in many areas of the country by the mid-1980s. 62 The industrial and agricultural workers' unions, CST and ATC, followed state and party 'directives for voluntary labour, more participation in defence, and austerity in wage demands ... This, combined with a verticalist decision-making style ... caused many workers to see [unions] as representing the interests of the state and the party rather than their own'.…”

The Reconquest of Central America

“…It was shaped by concerns about the relative significance of external and internal factors, as reflected in the debate between world-system theory and the modes-of-production approach. It also pointed to continuing disagreements over the relationship between class and ethnicity, sexual difference, the environment, and the roles of traditional classes, new social movements, and the state in political change (see, e.g., Colburn, 1986;Williams, 1986;Chilcote and Edelstein, 1986;Fagen, Deere, and Coraggio, 1986;Barry, 1987;Burbach and Núñez, 1987;Lancaster, 1988;Petras and Morley, 1988;Petras, 1988;Harris, 1988;Vilas, 1988Vilas, ,1989Alvarez, 1988;Petras andFitzgerald, 1988a, 1988b;Haynes, 1988a;Robinson and Norsworthy, 1988;Stahler-Sholk, 1990, Jonas andStein, 1990;Enriquez, 1991). 21.…”