Word: nicaragua
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...anyone can mollify hard-line conservatives, it should be their idol, Ronald Reagan. That is what Chief of Staff Howard Baker thought when a handful of right-wingers who had been invited to the White House began leveling accusations that the Administration was selling out the contras in Nicaragua. Baker had arranged for the President to drop by and explain in person that his tentative backing for a Central American peace plan implied no lessening of U.S. support for the Nicaraguan rebels. But this time his remarks were greeted only with cold silence; visibly irritated, Reagan shrugged and walked away...
Ortega's determination at least to act like a peacemaker seems to stem primarily from economic concerns. The war, which consumes more than half of Nicaragua's annual budget, is taking an enormous toll on the economy. The most immediate concern is oil. This year the Soviet Union and its East-bloc satellites are expected to supply 490,000 tons, or 64% of the total need, compared with 95% in 1986. Oddly, the crisis has neither lowered the monthly gas ration of 20 gal. for each vehicle nor inspired the state to ease the controls that hold the official price...
...anything been done to curb Nicaragua's chronic problems of mismanagement and inefficiency. Inflation threatens to reach quadruple digits, and such basics as eggs, onions and beef remain prohibitively expensive. Pet projects once showcased by the Sandinistas have withered, including programs to unclog sewers, remove garbage and fix up schools. Says Arturo Cruz, a former contra leader who now lives in Miami: "The Sandinistas were very good guerrillas, but they are disasters as economic managers...
...sign a treaty before the end of his term. The need to shore his right flank was particularly acute, because his retreat on verification came on the heels of his support for a Central American peace plan that conservatives fear could undermine the U.S.-backed contra rebels in Nicaragua. Though the President stopped short of repeating his earlier harsh depictions of the Soviet Union, he made clear that he still deeply distrusts Moscow. "While talking about reforms at home," he said, "the Soviet Union has stepped up its efforts to impose a failed system on others." He charged Moscow with...
...Security Adviser John Poindexter. Associates of Poindexter's said last week the admiral intends to retire Oct. 1, well before he might have to stand trial. North's magic, meanwhile, seems to have faded. A recent New York Times-CBS poll shows only 33% supporting U.S. aid to the Nicaragua contras, vs. 40% shortly after North's emotional testimony to Congress in July...