Democracy delayed until 1985
Ever since the overthrow of Nicaraguan Dictator Anastasio Somoza Debayle in July 1979, the Sandinista revolutionary government that succeeded him has been careful to temper its radical rhetoric with some solid accomplishments. Its most admired effort, for example, has been an exhaustive teaching campaign that the government claims has reduced the country's illiteracy from 50% to only about 12%. Of late, however, there have been signs that the Sandinistas are not moving as swiftly toward full democracy as their Western friends might wish. Now, in their most disappointing move to date, the Sandinistas have confirmed that...