Word: blocs
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...metaphor better symbolizes the triumph of democracy over totalitarianism. Even the horrific memory of the bloodstains in Tiananmen Square cannot eradicate the impression that most of the world is emulating the Western form of government -- or wants to desperately, even to the point of death. Not only the Communist bloc is awash in democratic ferment; nine Latin American nations have held or are scheduled to hold free elections in 1989. For the first time in memory, there is reason to hope that the doddering Communist Party boss in his shapeless dark suit may be as much an anachronism...
...last Tuesday apparently came down to this: Go with the flow. Within hours the Communists' belligerent demands for a greater role in Warsaw's as yet unformed government were replaced by conciliatory calls for "partner-like cooperation" with Solidarity. The arduous and uncharted process of piecing together the East bloc's first non-Communist government was back on track...
Extraordinary? Yes. Unexpected? Hardly. These days, events in Eastern Europe are so topsy-turvy that bloc uniformity seems to have given way to a breathless rush of uneven developments. In Hungary, where a multiparty system is in the works, Communist Party chief Karoly Grosz reportedly announced that < he was prepared to step down, a move that was interpreted as a victory for reformers. In East Germany the government sought to rid itself of malcontents by handing out unprecedented numbers of exit permits, while thousands of other unhappy citizens simply fled over the Hungarian border. In Poland the Communist Party Politburo...
...Solidarity in 1981 and interned its leader, Lech Walesa, along with more than 6,000 other members, was forced to turn to his foes to form a government. Jaruzelski asked Tadeusz Mazowiecki, 62, a Solidarity lawyer and journalist, to become the first non-Communist Prime Minister in the Soviet bloc since 1948 and to head up a ruling coalition...
That will be a tall order. Warsaw owes more than $39 billion to the West and 6 billion rubles to Soviet bloc countries. Interest payments alone amount to $3.5 billion annually. Inflation is running at more than 150% and will probably top 200% by year's end. Food supplies are sporadic at best. This month more strikes, some backed by Solidarity, have further damaged the economy...