There is a fear of civil war in Nicaragua because _______.

Directions: Answer the question based on the following passage.

After three years of Ms. Violeta Barrios de Chamorro's presidency, Nicaragua is still in a state of political crisis. The country is paralyzed by a struggle between her and a divided legislature and soured by the government's inability to meet the basic economic needs of the populace.

Ms. Chamorro was elected in February 1990 after a 12 year long civil war between the then ruling Sandinistas and the United States backed Contra guerrillas. The National Endowment for Democracy which was funded by the US Congress to support non–Sandinista opposition groups in Nicaragua played the most visible role in forming Ms. Chamorro's United Nicaraguan Opposition.

The UNO consists of 14 parties with widely differing ideologies – conservatives and Christian democrats to liberals and communists. During the election campaign the Sandinista National Liberation Front or FSLN was depicted as a party of "war, poverty, death and misery". UNO was identified as the party of peace and economic recovery. UNO's platform included plans to expand the market economy, abolish compulsory military service and radically reduce the size of the armed forces.

What truly united its diverse membership, however, was the common objective of defeating the FSLN. The FSLN had led a successful socialist revolution against the Somoza dictatorship and then fought a bitter, low intensity war unleashed by the US under the guise of restoring democracy in Central America. The objective of this US sponsored Contra "revolution" was to overthrow the leftwing Sandinistas. The war shattered the economy and the Sandinista revolution, opening the way for UNO's victory in 1990.

Under Ms. Chamorro, the UNO won an absolute majority. The Sandinistas remained the single largest party with 41 per cent of the votes. Ms Chamorro promised to make Nicaragua a full and peaceful democracy. The US also promised to usher in a new era of progress with an increased dose of aid.

Today, UNO is a house divided. The Sandinistas which brought the members together is ironically the source of disunity now. There is much criticism of Ms. Chamorro and her close advisers within the coalition for having made an "illegitimate and immoral marriage with the FSLN". Among other things, as part of her national reconciliation policy Ms. Chamorro allowed the Sandinistas to retain their hold over the army and police. At least six of the 14 UNO partners support the formation of a new opposition group. Bitterness has run so deep that the UNO has formally declared itself the opposition. Leaders refuse to meet Ms. Chamorro.

The present crisis was sparked off when the comptroller general, Mr. Guillermo Potoy, was dismissed allegedly to shield a colleague of Ms. Chamorro, Mr. Antonio Lacayo Oyanguren, from charges of corruption. Mr. Potoy made public a report accusing the former deputy minister, Mr. Antonio lbarra, of misappropriating \$1,000,000 in foreign aid. Ms. Chamorro's chief advisor, Mr. Lacayo, was charged with responsibility for the actions of his former deputy.

The scandal surfaced just weeks after the president had dissolved the National Assembly directorate. Using executive powers Ms Chamorro named a new directorate that held new elections. UNO refused to participate leaving the legislative leadership to the Sandinistas and breakaway groups from the UNO.

The first move of the revised assembly was to fire the comptroller general on a written request from the president. The charges were dismissed as an attempt by rightwing elements in the ruling party to discredit Ms. Chamorro's government for collaborating with FSLN on security and economic matters.

In Nicaragua corruption can make or break a government. The Sandinista revolution was triggered by corruption surrounding relief aid to the 1972 Nicaraguan quake victims. It was this act that sparked off the long crusade of Pedro Joquin Chamorro, Ms. Chamorro's husband and the editor of La Prensa against the dynasty. The assassination of Joquin Chamarro was just the sort of tinder needed to ignite what the New York Times called a "national mutiny".

The 1972 scandal gave the FSLN the opportunity to enter Nicaraguan politics. Whether they will be able to repeat the feat in 1993 is doubtful. One of the contentious issues facing Ms. Chamorro's government concerns land and property expropriated during the Sandinista regime. The president issued three decrees and a presidential agreement in September last year in an attempt to quash the issue. This included 4,600 redressed claims from property owners. The agreement specified confiscated property be returned to the rightful owners or that they be compensated.

To avoid unrest in the rural areas she specified it would be impossible to return land confiscated and distributed among the peasants now holding legal title or those confiscated for public purposes. Property owned by the former dictator and the national guard was also not to be returned. Though Ms. Chamorro's decision was politically sensible it angered UNO's ultra right and external paymasters in Washington.

Prior to 1979 1.5 percent of Nicaraguan big landowners possessed 41.5 per cent of all cultivable land. The Somoza dynasty controlled a major chunk of the arable land, dominating 40 percent of the rice production.

As punishment for the failure to reverse land reform the US blocked \$ 100,000,000 worth of aid. The Sandinista Chamorro link up antagonized US legislators like Senator Jesse Helms. The Bush administration held up $104 million assistance for months to register its dissatisfaction. Half the aid is still being withheld despite the desperate state of Nicaragua. Managua now awaits the response of the new reformist government in Washington.

Nicaragua's economy is in the doldrums. Fifty–three percent of the population is either unemployed or underemployed, inflation is astronomically high, more so after the devaluation of the currency by 20 percent.

In addition to this is the fear of civil war, which may erupt any time. The creation of an armed ultra left force comprising former Sandinista operatives is a warning shot. This group killed three prominent landlords or ranchers trying to reclaim land confiscated during Sandinista rule. The leftist punishment front also set off a number of small bomb blasts in schools and private enterprises. Former Contras and soldiers of the Sandinista army have also formed armed groups.

A series of assassinations and clashes in the north indicate the revival of the violence which wrecked the country in the last one decade. Mr. Alredo Caesar, one of Ms. Chamarro's critics and a former Contra, says. "I cannot say there is war, but what we have are the preparations for war. If institutional channels for change remain closed, I am afraid within 90 days we will see a reactivation of the war".

No one wants to return to the days of civil war. "It is a tragedy even to talk about returning to war," said Mr. Sergio Ramirez, leader of the Sandinista legislative delegation. "To stabilize the democratic process, Ms Chamorro needs to complete her term as president."

The Sandinista electoral defeat was projected by the Western media as another example of socialism's failure and how in free elections pro–Western forces always prevail over leftists. The reality was that it was US pressure and consequent economic deprivation and civil war that convinced a minority of voters to opt for the UNO. After the elections the US lifted its trade embargo.

Washington still has a stake in keeping UNO one party. The FSLN is the largest single party. Both the US and Ms. Chamorro have an interest in keeping UNO together and US aid is being used to cement the coalition. Even then the present government will find it difficult to consolidate power and resolve fundamental contradictions within its ranks.

Halfway through her tenure, Ms. Chamorro should now ask Nicaraguans the same question she asked in 1990: "Are you better off now than you were six years ago"? The answer then was no. One can presume what the answer will be now. It remains to be seen if Ms. Chamorro, once the darling of the West, will be able to lead "free Nicaragua" for another three years.

Question

Multiple choice

There is a fear of civil war in Nicaragua because _______.

Directions: Answer the question based on the following passage.

After three years of Ms. Violeta Barrios de Chamorro's presidency, Nicaragua is still in a state of political crisis. The country is paralyzed by a struggle between her and a divided legislature and soured by the government's inability to meet the basic economic needs of the populace.

Ms. Chamorro was elected in February 1990 after a 12 year long civil war between the then ruling Sandinistas and the United States backed Contra guerrillas. The National Endowment for Democracy which was funded by the US Congress to support non–Sandinista opposition groups in Nicaragua played the most visible role in forming Ms. Chamorro's United Nicaraguan Opposition.

The UNO consists of 14 parties with widely differing ideologies – conservatives and Christian democrats to liberals and communists. During the election campaign the Sandinista National Liberation Front or FSLN was depicted as a party of "war, poverty, death and misery". UNO was identified as the party of peace and economic recovery. UNO's platform included plans to expand the market economy, abolish compulsory military service and radically reduce the size of the armed forces.

What truly united its diverse membership, however, was the common objective of defeating the FSLN. The FSLN had led a successful socialist revolution against the Somoza dictatorship and then fought a bitter, low intensity war unleashed by the US under the guise of restoring democracy in Central America. The objective of this US sponsored Contra "revolution" was to overthrow the leftwing Sandinistas. The war shattered the economy and the Sandinista revolution, opening the way for UNO's victory in 1990.

Under Ms. Chamorro, the UNO won an absolute majority. The Sandinistas remained the single largest party with 41 per cent of the votes. Ms Chamorro promised to make Nicaragua a full and peaceful democracy. The US also promised to usher in a new era of progress with an increased dose of aid.

Today, UNO is a house divided. The Sandinistas which brought the members together is ironically the source of disunity now. There is much criticism of Ms. Chamorro and her close advisers within the coalition for having made an "illegitimate and immoral marriage with the FSLN". Among other things, as part of her national reconciliation policy Ms. Chamorro allowed the Sandinistas to retain their hold over the army and police. At least six of the 14 UNO partners support the formation of a new opposition group. Bitterness has run so deep that the UNO has formally declared itself the opposition. Leaders refuse to meet Ms. Chamorro.

The present crisis was sparked off when the comptroller general, Mr. Guillermo Potoy, was dismissed allegedly to shield a colleague of Ms. Chamorro, Mr. Antonio Lacayo Oyanguren, from charges of corruption. Mr. Potoy made public a report accusing the former deputy minister, Mr. Antonio lbarra, of misappropriating \$1,000,000 in foreign aid. Ms. Chamorro's chief advisor, Mr. Lacayo, was charged with responsibility for the actions of his former deputy.

The scandal surfaced just weeks after the president had dissolved the National Assembly directorate. Using executive powers Ms Chamorro named a new directorate that held new elections. UNO refused to participate leaving the legislative leadership to the Sandinistas and breakaway groups from the UNO.

The first move of the revised assembly was to fire the comptroller general on a written request from the president. The charges were dismissed as an attempt by rightwing elements in the ruling party to discredit Ms. Chamorro's government for collaborating with FSLN on security and economic matters.

In Nicaragua corruption can make or break a government. The Sandinista revolution was triggered by corruption surrounding relief aid to the 1972 Nicaraguan quake victims. It was this act that sparked off the long crusade of Pedro Joquin Chamorro, Ms. Chamorro's husband and the editor of La Prensa against the dynasty. The assassination of Joquin Chamarro was just the sort of tinder needed to ignite what the New York Times called a "national mutiny".

The 1972 scandal gave the FSLN the opportunity to enter Nicaraguan politics. Whether they will be able to repeat the feat in 1993 is doubtful. One of the contentious issues facing Ms. Chamorro's government concerns land and property expropriated during the Sandinista regime. The president issued three decrees and a presidential agreement in September last year in an attempt to quash the issue. This included 4,600 redressed claims from property owners. The agreement specified confiscated property be returned to the rightful owners or that they be compensated.

To avoid unrest in the rural areas she specified it would be impossible to return land confiscated and distributed among the peasants now holding legal title or those confiscated for public purposes. Property owned by the former dictator and the national guard was also not to be returned. Though Ms. Chamorro's decision was politically sensible it angered UNO's ultra right and external paymasters in Washington.

Prior to 1979 1.5 percent of Nicaraguan big landowners possessed 41.5 per cent of all cultivable land. The Somoza dynasty controlled a major chunk of the arable land, dominating 40 percent of the rice production.

As punishment for the failure to reverse land reform the US blocked \$ 100,000,000 worth of aid. The Sandinista Chamorro link up antagonized US legislators like Senator Jesse Helms. The Bush administration held up $104 million assistance for months to register its dissatisfaction. Half the aid is still being withheld despite the desperate state of Nicaragua. Managua now awaits the response of the new reformist government in Washington.

Nicaragua's economy is in the doldrums. Fifty–three percent of the population is either unemployed or underemployed, inflation is astronomically high, more so after the devaluation of the currency by 20 percent.

In addition to this is the fear of civil war, which may erupt any time. The creation of an armed ultra left force comprising former Sandinista operatives is a warning shot. This group killed three prominent landlords or ranchers trying to reclaim land confiscated during Sandinista rule. The leftist punishment front also set off a number of small bomb blasts in schools and private enterprises. Former Contras and soldiers of the Sandinista army have also formed armed groups.

A series of assassinations and clashes in the north indicate the revival of the violence which wrecked the country in the last one decade. Mr. Alredo Caesar, one of Ms. Chamarro's critics and a former Contra, says. "I cannot say there is war, but what we have are the preparations for war. If institutional channels for change remain closed, I am afraid within 90 days we will see a reactivation of the war".

No one wants to return to the days of civil war. "It is a tragedy even to talk about returning to war," said Mr. Sergio Ramirez, leader of the Sandinista legislative delegation. "To stabilize the democratic process, Ms Chamorro needs to complete her term as president."

The Sandinista electoral defeat was projected by the Western media as another example of socialism's failure and how in free elections pro–Western forces always prevail over leftists. The reality was that it was US pressure and consequent economic deprivation and civil war that convinced a minority of voters to opt for the UNO. After the elections the US lifted its trade embargo.

Washington still has a stake in keeping UNO one party. The FSLN is the largest single party. Both the US and Ms. Chamorro have an interest in keeping UNO together and US aid is being used to cement the coalition. Even then the present government will find it difficult to consolidate power and resolve fundamental contradictions within its ranks.

Halfway through her tenure, Ms. Chamorro should now ask Nicaraguans the same question she asked in 1990: "Are you better off now than you were six years ago"? The answer then was no. One can presume what the answer will be now. It remains to be seen if Ms. Chamorro, once the darling of the West, will be able to lead "free Nicaragua" for another three years.

of unemployment and underemployment
of very high inflation with devaluation
all the above

Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself

Accepted Answer

of creation of an armed force by former Sandinista members

Keep practicing — related questions