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The closing of La Prensa would have a devastating effect on the government's image, both at home and abroad. It would be an admission that the Sandinistas had abandoned their commitment to pluralism and freedom of the press, and were drifting toward totalitarianism. But with the Nicaraguan economy in a tailspin and public restiveness on the rise, the government seems increasingly unwilling to give free rein to so outspoken a critic. If La Prensa is crushed, said Vice President George Bush last week in Rio de Janeiro, the Sandinistas will "make it strikingly clear in the eyes of the world that they fear the truth." Perhaps the most poignant statement on the fate of the troubled newspaper came from a youth in the barrios of Managua who fought against Somoza:
"Shutting down La Prensa," he said, "would be like killing Pedro Joaquín Chamorro all over again."