FSLN agreement with left parties

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12 SOCIALIST ACTION OCTOBER 1989 The president of the Republic of Nicaragua, Commander of the Revolution Daniel Ortega Saavedra, and the representatives of the legally constituted political parties-the Movement for Popular Action-Marxist Leninist (MAPML), the Movement for Revolutionary Unity (MUR), and the Revolutionary Workers Party (PRT)-meeting on Aug. 3-4 at the Olaf Palme Convention Center in the city of Managua with the goal of discussing the exercise of the democratic rights and guarantees of the people, as well as the conditions for the equal participation of all political parties in the electoral process, agree to:

1. Demand of the government of Honduras that it unconditionally dismantle and demobilize the counterrevolutionary forces that attack Nicaragua from their camps within Honduran territory.

2. Demand of the U.S. government that it respect the sovereignty of Nicaragua and prohibit all activity by the CIA in the upcoming electoral process. 3. Taking into account the diverse concerns of the political parties signing this agreement, the President of Nicaragua pledges to continue the dialogue with these parties with the goal of obtaining better conditions for the democratic exercise of the working class and equal opportunity of these parties in the electoral process.

Managua, August 4, 1989 (signed Daniel Ortega Saavedra, President of the Republic of Nicaragua Legal Representatives of the Political Parties:

Bayardo Arce Castaño, Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) Francisco Samper Blanco, Movement for Revolutionary Unity (MUR) Isidro Tellez, Movement for Popular Action-Marxist Leninist (MAP-ML) Bonifacio Miranda, Revolutionary Workers Party (PRT) of the U.S. government. One of the major achievements of the Nicaraguan Revolution was the recovery of our national sovereignty -even though this sovereignty has been tampered with in the past few years by the Central American presidents, who have imposed decisions detrimental to Nicaragua.

We are sure that if the UNO were to come to power our sovereignty would be totally thrown out the window; the U.S. Embassy would once again become the place where all the major decisions concerning Nicaragua are made.

The UNO's program talks about reversing the confiscations of land and property seized during the revolution-even lands taken from Somoza and his cronies. This would mean leaving the door open to bringing back the Somozistas. The UNO wants to denationalize foreign trade. This would only favor a greater flight of capital from the country. And the list of reactionary measures goes on.

I should point out, however, that as bad as the UNO's program is on paper, it is not their full program. They have had to hide and downplay their most reactionary positions to gain a hearing from the Nicaraguan people. They are masters of demagogy.

As to whether they have a chance of winning, all I can do is give you my personal opinion. Personally, I don't think they will win. I don't think the UNO will be able to