From: ez000281@hamlet.ucdavis.edu
Newsgroups: soc.culture.latin-america
Subject: Nicaragua
Date: 9 Sep 92 05:04:13 GMT
Organization: Computing Services, UC Davis

Nicaragua: Gunpoint Democracy.

Today's New York times article confirmed what I suspected: Nicaragua is still 
ruled by Communists. The article by Shirley Christian accounts how President 
Chammorro is attempting to "reduce the power of the Sandinista Front in a very 
gradual way" since "She and her closest advisors clearly feel that, given the 
Sandinsitas still control most of the weapons in the contry, this is the only 
way change can be accomplished."  

The situation depicted in the article seems to depict a situation which is 
inversely proportional to that of Allende's tenure in Chile, where in spite of 
having won a popular election, his presidency was at the hands of the military, 
a "democracy" under the gun.  The article further states that the U.S. State 
Department sent a delegation to Managua to ask for the ouster of Sandinista 
henchmen within the army and the police force.  Chammoro anwsered back by 
appointing a priest beating Sandinista as chief of police.  Why this move?  
Well appartently it took place since Chamorro "...could not count on police 
help [with the previous chief ] if Sandinista-arganized mobs took over their 
property."  So, she decided to oust the former chief, Rene Vivas, who maintains 
close ties with hard line communist Tomas Borge.  Ironically Mr. vivas was  
replaced with a soft line communist, Fernando Caldera, who would by supposedly 
controled by an external commision a la LAPD.  To satisfy liberal democrats in 
Congress, Mr. Caldera immediately announced that his loyalties were first with 
Chamorro and then with the Sandinista party.  But who really believes this?  
What communist on earth (excluding supreme dictators) would disobey party 
discipline and subject themselves to the authority of noncommunist politicians? 
 To belive in Mr. Caldera's claim is like believing Pinochet is a liberal who 
has loyalties to his president first and to his army second.  As Lenin pointed 
out in his "State and Revoultion" essay, the state is in essence a military 
apparttus designed to maintain a class dictatorship and the Sandinistas are 
certainly very good at it.  

Their only problem is that Chamorro's manouver (unlike Allende's) could take a 
right turn and ask for international assitance in her depolitization of the 
army.  An action which would easily be aided by the OAS or other international 
forces.  Allende could never have accomplished that given the U.S. 
confrontation with the Soviets.  This time, its quite easier for democratically 
elected politicians to dismantle the previous state and creat a new one.

President Chamorros son in law, Mr. Lacayo stated that no more changes in 
government were in the making and Managua returns to buisness as usual under 
Sandinismo.  Consider yourself is the country is under gunpoint rule by 
pondering on the Times report: 

        "Nicaragua is a country where almost every policy decision is made on  
 the basis of personal relsationships, where everything that happens is  
interpreted as part of a master conspiracy, and it is never clear who is        
 manipulated." 

        "It is also a country where officials traditionally use their 
positions        for personal business gain, and many Nicaraguans say the most 
binding  tie between Mr. Lacayo and General Ortega is their joint buisiness     
 affairs."

Seems somocismo with a red and black face has sprouted in Nicaragua.

Edelmiro Salas
Newsgroups: soc.culture.latin-america