Guise of Objectivity Multi-party diversity in a revolu- tionary socialist country has little his- torical success, and Nicaragua's ex- perience could enrich our understand- ing of paths for radical social change. The brief article by Tony Jenkins (September/October 1984) provides some useful information but is filled with factual errors and analysis more suited to The New Republic. Jenkins, under the guise of objec- tivity, begins his analysis from a lib- eral perspective, doubting all the ex- pressed good intentions of the FSLN leadership. Instead, he gives the ben- efit of the doubt to the right-wing Democratic Coordinating Committee (CDN). Yet it is clear that the Nicara- guan elections are a qualitative im- provement over the "demonstration elections" in El Salvador, and that the FSLN has gone the extra mile in en- couraging participation by all parties in governing and in the elections. Jenkins does not mention a crucial fact: the FSLN won overwhelmingly not because it suppressed the opposi- tion, but because the Sandinistas out- organized the other groups and de- veloped a program that met the needs of the majority. The FSLN led a politicized population, united only in opposition to Somoza in 1979, to a point now where the majority support a socialist program. Jenkins also ignores U.S. manipu- lation within the electoral process. The CIA encouragement of the CDN to boycott the elections fell on recep- tive ears, and a major effort was launched to pull more parties out of the elections. While we do not know the real reasons behind the withdrawal of the PLI candidates, it certainly fit into CIA strategy. (1) Jenkins asserts that "the elec- tions become little more than a cost- ly distraction. . .a distraction [the FSLN] long resisted." In fact, the Sandinistas announced in 1980 that elections would be held in five years. While some FSLN leaders may see elections as a waste of time (prefer- ring to concentrate on grass-roots par- ticipatory democracy and reconstruc- tion), the Sandinista line is that the elections are a great step forward in institutionalizing the revolution and 2 REPORT ON THE AMERICAS building democracy in Nicaragua. (2) According to Jenkins, "very Editor few parties were prepared to commit George Black themselves to the elections" [because of restrictions under the emergency Features Editor legislation]. Actually, the government an- Managing Editor nounced May 31 that restrictions Virginia Cannon would be reviewed for the elections at Research Director the revolution's fifth anniversary cele- Robert Matthews bration on July 19, and most were lifted [on that day]. Of the ten parties Research Staff with legal status, six had long leaned Robert Armstrong Deborah Huntington toward registering and three had Janet Shenk hinted since 1983 that they would not. Given the newness of free elections, Art Direction all parties [attempted to define what Liz Mestres they viewed as] fair conditions, but Librarian only the most conservative two of the Ruth Kaplan seven were not committed to elec- tions. [sic] One of these, the PLI, re- Promotion Manager gistered but withdrew October 21. Kate Browne (3) Jenkins quotes two seemingly Subscription Manager important but unnamed sources: it Cecilia Chacon "was clear the government was be- Businessanager coming isolated . . . the Sandinistas Stuart Ozer seem hellbent on a military show- down." What other socialist or even Distribution Manager nationalist revolutionary governments Ted Auerbach have done more in the face of difficult On Leave internal conditions and outside ag- Judy Butler gression to keep from being isolated? Nicaragua has been a lion on the dip- lomatic circuit, has agreed to support Typography by: Your Type. Contadora and promised to negotiate Book store distribution: Camrer Pigeon, 40 Plymp- an end to any foreign military advisers ton Street. Boston, MA 02118. Report on the Americas (ISSN 0149-1598) is pub- or arms trafficking. lished bimonthly by the North American Congress (4) The far-right wing of the tradi- on Latin America, Inc. (NACLA), an independent tional Conservative Party left Nicara- non-profitorganization foundedin 1966 focusingon gua with Somoza in 1979 and the the political economy ofthe Americas. Donations to party dissolved. The PCN was actu- NACLA are tax-exempt. ally formed this year by a right split The views expressed in Report on the Americas off the PCD, which itself split from are those of the authors and do not necessarily repre- sent the views of NACLA. the old Conservative Party. The PCD never joined the CDN so it would Second class postage paid at New York, NY. Post- master. send address changes to NACLA, 151 West have been hard for millionaire 19th Street, 9th Floor, New York, NY 10011. businessman Mario Rappaccioli to Subscriptions: $18 per year for individuals ($32 for have been a "dominant voice inside two years; $45 for three years); $29 per year for the CDN" for more than a few institutions ($54 for two years; $75 for three years). months. The PCN joined the CDN For Air Mail Subscription add, per year: U.S. and and while it is not legally recognized Canada $6; Mexico, Central America, Caribbean as a party, it is considered so, and thus $9; South America, Europe $12; elsewhere $14. as a party, it is considered so, and thus the CDN is usually said to have four, Back Issues. $3 plus 75 cents postage and handling. not three, member parties. Back issue lists available on request. (5) The article says the CDN "as- Microfilm reels of Volumes I through VI and VII sume[s] the role of the legitimate through X available at $90 each. Copyright c sume[s] 1985 by the North American Congress on Latin voice of domestic opposition to the America, Inc. Indexed by Alternative Press government." Legitimate to whom? Index and Hispanic American Periodicals Index. Continued on page 13 Continued from page 2 The CDN's constant demands that the government dialogue with the contras make it quite unpopular in Nicaragua, and it is a testament to the restraint of the Sandinistas and their supporters that the CDN and its mouthpiece, La Prensa, were not shut down years ago. Reagan may say he views CDN's "participation in the elections . . . as the touchstone of Sandinista commit- ments to pluralism and democracy." In reality, the CDN's participation is viewed in Washington as the touch- stone of Sandinista willingness to sell out, and this the FSLN has refused to do. Most Nicaraguans do not see ca- tering to groups supporting the con- tras as a "touchstone of democracy." Fifty thousand died fighting to over- throw Somoza and Nicaraguans see no reason to let somocista mercenaries back in through negotiation. Jenkins' statement about the "re- pression of all public political opposi- tion" makes Nicaragua sound like El Salvador. While strong opposition to the FSLN is discouraged, La Prensa keeps criticizing, new rightist groups are formed and old ones continue to exist (and can print materials). Out- door opposition rallies were discour- aged but indoor conferences con- tinued. Statements by CDN leaders have confirmed [that they never intended to run], so why Jenkins' weak and tenta- tive statement? Few independent ob- servers were fooled by the CDN pre- tense of preparing for elections-it was a set-up to allow stronger criti- cism of the process. To the CDN and Washington, the only fair elections are those that the FSLN loses, a virtual impossibility even if all parties ran. Fairness is not the issue to Reagan and his allies, it is class struggle and they "seem hell- bent on a military showdown." Steve Watrous Milwaukee, WI Tony Jenkins responds: Perhaps I underestimated my audi- ence, but I felt it was important to tackle the elections from the context of the establishment U.S. media, which are, after all, where most people's opinions are shaped. That I should start from such a perspective does not mean that I endorse it-I think my article proves that. There is no liberal bourgeois conspiracy. To set the record straight: in five years the Sandinista Front has trans- formed Nicaragua from the plaything of coffee and cattle barons into a soci- ety focused on hospitals and schools, women's organizations and cam- pesino cooperatives. No other society has ever been so radically altered with so little bloodshed. That does not mean the Sandinistas are faultless; it would be patronizing to pretend so. (1) With regard to the date of the elections it would be naive to suggest that Sandinista policy has been consis- tent since 1980. As Interior Minister Tomas Borge has often admitted, the elections should have been held ear- lier. Yet within the Frente there were many who argued that elections could not be organized in a time of war-- after all, Britain held none during World War II. Others argued that the participatory, mass-organizational ele- ment of the Council of State should not be discarded. Yes, the elections were a useful educational and mo- bilizing operation, but, as many San- dinista leaders have privately admit- ted, the overriding priority was to convince European Socialist Interna- tional leaders of their pluralist com- mitment. (2) Yes, the Frente promised May 31 to lift restrictions. They had previ- ously promised to lift them on Feb- ruary 21. . . . In practice, as I wrote, the major concessions did not come until early August. You may believe six parties were "leaning" toward participation, but until the last mo- ment the PLI and the PCD were vacil- lating. Their excuse was the absence of guarantees and conditions. The real reasons are the subject for another ar- ticle. (3) I agree the Sandinistas have made major efforts to avoid becoming isolated. But, regrettably, in the months leading up to the elections the efforts were not being met with much success. Like it or not, that is the real- ity. Let's recall where the Socialist In- ternational is coming fron--they would clearly like a "Portuguese sol- ution" in Nicaragua. They have their own political ax to grind. Fortunately, the fairness of the elections helped the Frente to recover much of the lost ground. (4) If Watrous wants to fault my facts, to undermine my analysis, he should get his own facts right. The PCD was not a split but a coalition of the three conservative parties which reunited in 1979, as such it is the di- rect descendant of the traditional Con- servative Party. The PCN has never joined the CDN. In practice it is an ex-officio member. Through COSEP Mario Rappaccioli has long been a dominant voice in the CDN. The PCN is the right wing of the Conservative Party in Nicaragua. (5) Watrous quotes me out of con- text. For reasons explained in my arti- cle, the CDN was able to assume the role of the "legitimate" opposition in international opinion. As I showed, it has as yet to prove that the role is jus- tified. I could go on, but I won't. All Watrous' points could be answered in the same vein. All I will say is that, given the context, the elections were remarkably fair and open and this has been reflected in the reports from a broad range of observers.
