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The Construction of Democracy in Nicaragua

Nancy Stein

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.

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