Word: cruz
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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Nicaraguan battle lines of a different kind seemed to have been drawn irrevocably at a meeting of the 58-nation Socialist International in Rio de Janeiro. Politicians at the meeting tried mightily to broker an agreement between the Sandinistas and their foremost democratic opponent, Arturo Cruz Porras, in order to allow Cruz and his backers to participate in the Nov. 4 elections, which have become an acid test of the Sandinistas' democratic intentions. Opposition forces have argued that they need more time to mount an effective campaign. Cruz and Sandinista Directorate Member Bayardo Arce Castano apparently agreed...
...apparent peace offensive was prompted in large part by the Sandinistas' simultaneous announcement that presidential elections scheduled for Nov. 4 will not be postponed. The U.S. supports delaying the elections in order to give more preparation time to opposition candidates. The most prominent among them is Arturo Cruz, a disillusioned former member of the Sandinista junta. "They are very, very tricky," said Carnegie Endowment for International Peace Senior Associate Robert Leiken, who recently wrote a scathing indictment of the Sandinista regime for the New Republic. Scheduling the vote for Nov. 4, he said, 'means that none of this...
Despite the Sandinistas' claims of open elections, a government-inspired mob two weeks ago attacked about 50 Cruz supporters at a meeting in the city of Masaya. The opposition members were assaulted by a crowd of perhaps 4,000, many wielding machetes, before police came to the rescue. Some of the attackers later said hat they had been organized by middle-level Sandinistas: block committee leaders and union organizers...
That was by no means an isolated event. Earlier that week pro-Sandinista youths known as turbas divinas (divine mobs) had harassed opposition supporters meeting in the city of León. Two days later another mob stoned Cruz's blue Ford while it was parked in front of the Recreo restaurant in the cattle-ranching town of Boaco, where the opposition leader was meeting with about 100 of his backers. Said Cruz as he surveyed his smashed windshield: "How can we go into an electoral process if this is going to happen every...
...Ruiz Hernandez returned from Eastern Europe two weeks ago. The moderates agreed not to delay the vote in return for the acceptance of the proposed Contadora pact. Their capitulation has angered the opposition, known as the Coordinadora, a coalition of political parties, businessmen and labor unions that has chosen Cruz to head its ticket. Cruz has refused to sign up officially for the race because of the date of the election...