orb@whuxl.UUCP (SEVENER) (01/24/86)
nrh writes in response to Richard Carnes: > > Richard Carnes > nrh > >Wouldn't it be simpler to ask the Nicaraguans themselves if they are > >pleased with the various changes that have taken place in their > >country? I don't know the answer, but it is either Yes or No. > > That's an interesting idea. If the implication is that each > Nicaraguan would say "Yes" or "no", then we agree (with the > reservation that a Yes/No choice might have to be forced). But if you > think the answer would be "Yes" or "No" if you were to ask the MASS of > Nicaraguans (subject it to a country-wide voice-vote, say) then you've > taken them as a collective entity capable of only one opinion, which > is surely a mistake. > For your information Nicaragua had an election in 1984 in which 65% of the people voted for the Sandinistas and 35% voted for various opposition parties. Arturo Cruz, who now supports the contras, refused to run in the election despite requests from the Sandinistas to do so because he was threatened with a cutoff of American support. So the answer seems to be strong support from the vast majority of Nicaraguans for the Sandinistas policies in general with opposition to some of these policies. Obviously different people have different interests and concerns which were reflected in the 35% of the legislature elected from alternatives to the Sandinistas. Edgar Chamorro, who used to be in the contras Directorate, wrote thus (NYT Jan 9,1986 pA22): "The Sandinistas, for all their faults, have made enormous advances in education, housing and health care, issues of vital importance to Nicaragua's poor majority. Unfortunately, the "contras" burn down schools, homes, and health centers as fast as the Sandinistas build them." The major dissatisfaction expressed is with the draft laws. tim sevener whuxn!orb