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This article presents information on the activities strengthening the School of Public Health of Nicaragua. The Nicaraguan School of Public Health, opened in 1982, now part of the Autonomous University of Nicaragua, is the first such school established by a Central American country and the only degree-granting program in Central America preparing students to work in all fields of public health. But the Nicaraguan School of Public Health is in desperate need of resources. The School has recently acquired an old university building, which needs extensive structural alterations, electrical work, plumbing, and the most basic furnishings for a few classrooms, a meeting area, and offices. There is virtually no library. Computers and teaching materials are lacking. Clearly, the country will be short of resources for many years, and therefore Nicaraguan public health leaders feel that the best strategy is to train public health workers who can make scarce resources go far. Because of the commitment of the outgoing leadership of Nicaragua's Ministry of Health some local funds are available for improving the School. Minister of Health, Dora Maria Tellez, set aside some funds for renovating the building, and the Government of Spain has agreed to provide a modest supplement to these funds.

Presents a short story entitled `Falta Nada' by Richard Elman dealing with Tomas Borge, a fictional Nicaraguan Minister of the Interior.

Discusses the conflict among the three executive branches of government in the United States over the application of the Reagan Doctrine to Nicaragua. Former US President Ronald Reagan's advocacy of the elimination of all assistance to Nicaragua in the wake of the war between Contra rebels and the Sandinista government; Formulation of the Reagan Doctrine and the American foreign policy.

Examines the political transitions to popular revolutionary and electoral democracy in Nicaragua. Constraints of agro-export development and United States military and economic aggression; Shift toward liberal democratic regime; Problems from legacy of ten years of revolution.

Presents a critique of poststructuralism and the idea of the end of ideology in Nicaragua. Includes the poststructuralist ideas of Ernesto Laclau and Chantal Mouffe; Roots of political action and the emergence of social movements in existing relations of production; Nicaraguan revolution as an uneven program that attempted to win over capitalists while implementing policies for the working and peasant classes.

Examines the attempt by the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) to create a socialist, liberal and participatory democratic political system in Nicaragua. FSLN's defeat in the 1989 Nicaraguan national election; FSLN's paternalism; Technobureaucracy; Emergence of a neo-liberal government; Utopian model for democratization.

Analyzes the construction of democracy as part of the broader process of carrying out a social revolution in Nicaragua. Effects of United States policy; Construction of democracy as an internal process of the Nicaraguan Revolution; Factors shaping Nicaraguan politics; Sandinista government's demonstration of a long-range commitment to developing a revolutionary pluralism.

Shows that the concepts of political pluralism and of the vanguard have been synthesized in Nicaraguan theory and practice in a manner that does violence to neither of them. Dynamism of contemporary Nicaraguan life; Notion of hegemony; Political pluralism as identified with a multiparty system; Discussions with representatives of the Frente Sandinista de Liberacion Nacional.

In this article, the author describes the origins of Sandinismo nationalism in a rich and detailed account of the conditions that spawned this revolutionary movement in Nicaragua. According to the author, it is the story of the struggles of General Augusto César Sandino against North American imperialism. He indicates that the fight of Sandino in the Nicaraguan mountains at the head of a handful of peasants and workers must be seen as the historical result of centuries of foreign domination in his country. He believes the political thought of Sandino is the result of what he thinks is nothing else than the result of his daily experience as leader in that war of resistance.

The article presents an interview with Nicaraguan Minister of Culture Ernesto Cardenal about culture and politics in the country. The interview begins with the relation between the cultural arts and the state during the dictatorship of the Somozas. Cardenal then explains the political culture and the possibilities for social criticism under the Somozas. In addition, Cardenal discusses how various ethnic groups integrated in cultural forms and society in the country.

In this article, the author looks at the practice of neoindigenismo in the Atlantic Coast region of Nicaragua. According to the author, the contras and U.S. groups such as the Indian Law Resource Center seek to twist the demands of the Atlantic Coast peoples for local autonomy into full-blown separatism and a justification for foreign intervention on behalf of the so-called Fourth-World indigenous communities. He indicates that regional autonomy and an end to the conflict between the government and the indigenous communities continue to be undermined by U.S. and contra efforts to promote armed conflict in the region.

This article provides an overview of the troubled relationship that has existed between the revolutionary regime and the various peoples who live in the Atlantic Coast region of Nicaragua. The author reminds that regional autonomy arrangements elsewhere in the world generally have been directed at resolving peacefully the conflicts that occur between minority communities and national governments that seek to exercise some authority over these communities. He indicates that regional autonomy and an end to the conflict between the government and the indigenous communities continue to be undermined by U.S. and contra efforts to promote armed conflict in the region.

In this article, the author explains the concept of Sandinista revolutionary morale. The author discusses the importance of the ideological dimension to the revolution as shown by the concept. He indicates the extent to which the Sandinistas believe that the revolutionary transformation of Nicaraguan society requires basic changes in the consciousness as well as the material conditions of the population. The author concludes that ideas, visions and myths are the vehicles for such consciousness and are prerequisites for action.

The article discusses the implications of the elections and U.S. intervention in Nicaragua. According to the author, the elections show the extent to which important sectors of the bourgeoisie have opposed the Sandinista regime and attempted to avoid the realization of the revolutionary project of the Frente Sandinista de Liberación Nacional (FSLN). The article also demonstrates how this internal opposition to the revolutionary process is linked to the external forces of armed counterrevolution and the interventionist project of the U.S.

The article offers an analysis of democratization within the revolutionary political system of Nicaragua. Democratization involves the development of its revolutionary democratic state, popular participation in the revolutionary process, and pluralism that exists within the revolutionary political system. The authors show how the institutionalization of a revolutionary democracy will legitimize and strengthen the revolutionary project of national liberation and social transformation of Frente Sandinista de Liberación National (FSLN).

The article offers information on the development of capitalism in Nicaragua. It deciphers the historical development of this country's prerevolutionary economy, centering in particular on capitalist development and the contradictions and changes related with it. It is posed that in July 1979 the Nicaraguan Revolution obtained an agrarian structure identified by uneven development as well as widely circulated occurrence of poverty among the semiproletarianized rural population. This agrarian structure was molded by uneven capitalist development of the last thirty years.

The article offers information on the commercial policy of Nicaragua. It is posed that the Sandinista revolution which culminated in July 1979 with the downfall of the Somoza rule implicated high costs in loss of life and productive capacity of this country. The war greatly affected the industrial and agricultural production of the country, and about $250 million worth of equipment, factories, and inventories had been destructed and industrial organization was disrupted. The production of cotton, grains, and cattle was greatly affected too. As a solution, the Sandinistas have preferred for a mixed economy to solve the economic problems of the country.

The article focuses on José Figueroa, a Nicaraguan Sandinista who fought for the revolution of their country against the government. It discusses the life of José during the revolutionary era, when he became third or fourth in rank at the Ministry of the Interior in 1979, making him one of the country's powerful Sandinistas. The Ministry of the Interior is technically assisted and guided by the German Democratic Republic and the Soviet Union, where José made trips to. Discussion on the U.S. intervention and the economic crisis of the country in relation to the revolution concept by the Nicaraguans are provided.

The article offers the author's insights regarding the growth of feminist movement in Nicaragua. The author mentions that the Nicaraguan women's movement could be categorized into one that grows out of and accepts the persisting roles of female and another that seeks to change the roles of women assigned by the society. She states the growth of feminism developed after the administration of Sandinista or Frente Sandinista de Liberacion Nacional (FSLN) left and is unlikely the outcome of mobilization in the 1980s. She notes that the Luisa Amanda Espinoza Association of NicaraguanWomen (Asociación de Mujeres Nicaragüenses Luisa Amanda Espinoza or AMNLAE) and FSLN helped in the creation of feminist movement by opening space for development which had been closed before 1979.

The article presents a study of the recent history of Central America, within the dynamics of globalization. It examines the transitional stage that was experienced in the politics and economy of Nicaragua from the 1960s to the 1990s. It also focuses on the removal of the Sandinista National Liberation Front Party of Nicaragua from power in 1990. It states that an examination of Nicaragua's inclusion in the global order depends on the relationship beween Nicaragua and the U.S., because of dominant role played by the U.S. in the history of Nicaragua. It mentions that globalization results in the incorporation of national societies into a world economy, transforming it into a global society.

Discusses the emergence of Marxist totalitarianism in Nicaragua. Myths on totalitarian rule supported by the Sandinista party; Necessity for the United States to monitor the human rights situation in the nation; Concerns over the growing repression of churches in the country.

The article presents a comparative perspective between the states, revolutionary conflict and democracy in El Salvador and Nicaragua. It is stated that the U.S. government called El Salvador's regime democratic, while the one in Nicaragua as totalitarian. Analysis of the internal and external environments of Salvadoran and Nicaraguan regimes has suggested that the prospects for democracy are hardly hopeless. Related issues are also discussed including the states and transition to democracy and the setting of successful revolutionary organizations.

The article discusses the major events and debates that have taken place during the reform and democratization of subnational government in Nicaragua from the overthrow of the Somoza dictatorship to late 1984. Developments during this period highlight five distinct areas of reform that must he addressed as part of any process of state democratization: (a) selection and maintenance of local officials; (b) integration of popular participation; (c) definition of the range of local authority; (d) resources for local development; and (e) relation to other levels of government. These issues are addressed through a discussion focusing heavily on local government during the first 3 years, then on the experience of the newly created regional governments and decentralization beginning in mid-1982, and finally on the early-and quite divergent-experience with the development of zonal government between the municipal and regional levels. The specific resolution of these five sets of issues is part of the development of the revolutionary process in Nicaragua, and will strongly shape the political and developmental significance of the resulting local government. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reviews the film "From the Ashes...Nicaragua Today," directed by Helena Solberg-Ladd.

Examines the geopolitical dimension in the relationship between the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and the Sandinista regime in Nicaragua. Involvement of PLO in Nicaraguan political affairs; Influence of Israel in Nicaraguan political affairs; Extension of Palestinian-Israeli conflict to Central America.

This article explores the question of the development of democracy in Nicaragua with emphasis on the period from 1979 to the present. The primary focus is on the role of democracy within the framework of the Sandinista revolution including the 11 years of FSLN state power and the last four years during which the Sandinistas have been the primary opposition party. It is the primary contention of the article that a profound democratization of Nicaragua began with the rise of the FSLN to power in 1979. It also asserts that while democratization has not been definitely reversed during the conservative rule of Chamorro it has been weakened. The paper's primary conclusions run directly against those who argue that Nicaraguan process of democratization began only with the assumption of power of the UNO coalition in April 1990. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An interview with Sergio Ramirez Mercado, one of the members of the governing junta of the revolutionary government of Nicaragua, is presented. When asked why the Nicaraguan revolution is called a Sandinista revolution, he states that one of the simplest ways to understand Sandinismo is to connect it with the historical confrontation that has existed between the U.S. and Nicaragua. He adds that there is no alternative for them but to maintain relations with the U.S.

An interview with members of the Nicaraguan National Assembly including Clemente Guido, Mauricio Díaz Dávila, Sixto Ulloa Doña and Rafael Solís Cerda is presented. Guido highlights the establishment of the National Assembly. Dávila explains the responsibility of the Constitutional Commission. Doña discusses the process of drafting a new constitution for Nicaragua. Cerda comments on the reorganization of the Sadinista Defense Committees (CDS).

The purpose 0f this article is to assess the usefulness of the theoretical insights generated by Theda Skocpol's theory of revolution in explaining the Iranian and Nicaraguan revolutions. The major contention of this study is that she has formulated a useful framework for understanding social revolutions. However, given the manner in which she links her analysis to specific historical context, her propositions need to be modified in order to be applied to more recent revolutionary cases. Her analysis can become more applicable to the contemporary world by (1) locating it in the changing balance of class forces occasioned by combined and uneven development of capitalism on a world scale, (2) developing an understanding of the internal dynamics of states in peripheral formations, and (3) introducing a broader understanding of ideology. These modifications will enable us to explain the changing coalescence of oppositional groupings as manifested in the changing importance of intermediate classes, and to single out a particular type of state as distinctively susceptible to revolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A report is presented from an October 20-22, 2011 meeting in Eichstätt, Germany on Latin American history. Topics of presentations given included the history of Spanish missionaries in the Tagalog region of the Philippines, Nicaraguan political parties in the early 1900s, and gender equality in Brazil.