The Nicaraguan press today

Scan page 9

SUBSCRIBE NOW: $1 for 3 MONTHS T Socialist Action, 3435 Army St., Rm. 308, San Francisco, CA 94110 MANAGUA, Nicaragua-During our two-week stay in Nicaragua we visited the three major newspapers: La Prensa, Barricada, and El Nuevo Diario.

La Prensa has historically been a conservative newspaper. Its anti-Somoza position was in reality a pro-capitalist position. In 1977 when the Sandinistas began to win more influence, Pedro Joaquin Chamorro, the editor of La Prensa went to the United States to seek support for his views.

When Somoza heard of Chamorro's U.S. visit, he had Chamorro murdered. Since 1978 La Prensa has become an anti-Somoza newspaper—but not a proSandinista one.

Barricada is the official newspaper of the Frente Sandinista, not of the Nicaraguan state. Before the revolution, the Sandinistas had an idea of what kind of paper they wanted to have. They wanted a newspaper that would be creative and would reflect positions critical of the FSLN. At Barricada, they think this is healthy.

ACTiON Name.

Address City Telephone At one point, La Prensa began to have internal conflicts. Its editorial policy was moving further to the right. This led to the development of a newspaper that offered a third viewpoint, El Nuevo Diario.

El Nuevo Diario covers stories that Barricada as a "party paper" does not touch. For example, Barricada does not print articles about religion because this is not a political question. It is seen as a philosophical question and a personal matter.

On the question of censorship, the Barricada staff told us that they never wanted anything that resembled censorship in Nicaragua because they knew the type of image this would project.

So what happened? Why had the FSLN resorted to censorship in the case of La Prensa? According to the Barricada editor we spoke with, La Prensa had stopped being a vehicle for discussion and was transformed into a propaganda tool against the revolution.

The editor pointed out that the Chilean newspaper El Mercurio had played a role in the destabilization of Salvador Allende's government, and that a simiEnclosed is phiet offer.

Enclosed is tion Zip Enclosed is $1 for 3 months Enclosed is $6 for 12 months for pam_contribi State Nicaragua. Articles like the one claiming that there would be no milk available would have generated a panic.

The Barricada editor with whom we spoke told us that the steps against La Prensa were taken despite the desire to respect the richness of journalism. He also mentioned that on July 19 of this year, the censorship was lifted. The only items censored today are those containing unconfirmed military information.

At Barricada, they feel that a newspaper must play a critical role in relation to the revolution. We were told that to criticize the revolution is to make sure that the revolution will develop further. Then he pointed out the critical approach most favored at Barricadacartoons!

Dianne Feeley and Paul LeBlanc-to all those who purchase a one-year subscription to Socialist Action.

For this limited period only, readers can obtain a one-year subscription to our paper plus one copy of this 76-page pamphlet for only $8.

For many years the Socialist Workers Party has been the foremost adherent in the United States of the revolutionary perspectives of Leon Trotsky. Recently, SWP National Secretary Jack Barnes has sharply challenged those perspectives, particularly the theory of permanent revolution.

This pamphlet is a response to that challenge. By surveying the history of the Marxist movement and examining present-day realities, the authors demonstrate the relevance of Trotsky's ideas in the "age of permanent revolution. "

Scan page 10

_FORUMi imperialism should escalate its efforts to