After The Revolution: The Sandinistas

The Sandinistas may be down, but they're still not out of power

At Sandinista headquarters, as the uneasy rumors of defeat hardened into certainty, several party officials violated the election-day ban on alcohol and generously sampled rum. On the other side of Managua, it was well past midnight before Violeta Barrios de Chamorro was finally convinced of her upset victory. As the news sank in, Chamorro's perpetually smiling face clouded with worry. Would the Sandinistas accept the people's verdict? Rising from her wheelchair and perching carefully to favor her right knee, broken in a fall in January, Chamorro gestured for silence among the 100 people gathered in her spacious living room. Then she...

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