To the Editor, Portland Oregonian:
Like Bruce Kauffmann (20 February 2005) I, too, remember the heady excitement of Nicaragua's first-ever free election. I was so happy for the long-suffering people of a small and impoverished country, taking charge of their own destiny at last and shaking off a long history of dictatorship.
But Kauffmann is incorrect in saying that the first free election was held in 1990. It was actually in 1984, and the Sandinista party won that one.
Kauffmann praises the "freedom fighters" supported by Ronald Reagan, failing to mention that the contra terrorists tried to disrupt free elections and overthrow the nascent Nicaraguan democracy.
Why did the Sandinistas hold an election in 1990? Because the democratic Constitution the Sandinistas wrote called for elections every six years, and they took their commitment to democracy seriously. Seriously enough to hold the election in spite of the contras' efforts to prevent people from voting, in spite of the massive CIA investment in Violeta Chamorro's campaign. Seriously enough to allow the votes to be counted honestly, and to leave office peacefully when the UNO party won.
These are the people Kauffmann refers to as a "military dictatorship".
I think some more history lessons are called for.
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