This book, first published in 1987, is a solid, analytical exploration of the complex dynamics of the revolutionary economic transformation from 1979 to 1986. This collection of eleven essays provides a clear picture of the goals, internal debates, external influences and shifting policy decisions which affected the efforts of the Sandinista government. They help to clarify the dynamics between soaring food prices and falling wages, and explain the complex relationship between the private sector and the state. They also document the policies of the Reagan administration toward the Sandinista government.

This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1986.

By tracing the complex relationship between the Sandinista government and the Nicaraguan business elite, this book examines the shifting mix of alliances and oppositions that shaped the Sandinista revolution. Rose Spalding takes issue with models of the business sector that assume a high degree of class cohesion. Drawing on carefully structured interviews with ninety-one private-sector leaders at the end of the Sandinista era, Spalding documents responses to the Sandinista government that range from extreme ideological hostility to enthusiastic support. To explain this variation, Spalding explores such factors as the prerevolutionary social and economic characteristics of the elite, their organizational networks, and their experiences with expropriation and government subsidies. She is one of the first scholars to look at the ways in which these groups have evolved in the postrevolutionary era under the Chamorro government. In addition, Spalding provides a valuable analysis of four other cases of attempted structural change, thereby drawing broader, cross-national comparisons and developing theoretical insights about the political character of the 'bourgeoisie.' Originally published in 1994. A UNC Press Enduring Edition -- UNC Press Enduring Editions use the latest in digital technology to make available again books from our distinguished backlist that were previously out of print. These editions are published unaltered from the original, and are presented in affordable paperback formats, bringing readers both historical and cultural value.

Even in the period following the electoral defeat of the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) in 1990, the revolution of 1979 continues to have a profound effect on the political economy of Nicaragua. Wright's study, which is based on interviews with people from all walks of life -- from government and party officials to academics and campesinos -- as well as on the large volume of literature in both English and Spanish, focuses on the FSLN understanding of the relationships between the state, the party, and mass actors, and the nature of social classes. Wright considers the topics of agrarian reform, the development of mass organizations, the role of labor, and other aspects of the Nicaraguan political economy in order to assess their significance in theoretical as well as practical terms. Book jacket.

The Sandinista revolution brought dramatic social, economic and political changes to Nicaragua in the 1980s, but in the wake of the electoral defeat of the FSLN in 1990 the revolution has struggled to survive in the face of challenges from the Chamorro administration, the US government, and the International Monetary Fund. Gains of the revolution in health care, education, Atlantic Coast autonomy, agrarian reform, and other areas have been systematically eroded. However, significant efforts have also been mounted, especially in grass roots organizing and by women's organizations, to protect the revolution's achievements. Through a series of articles based on current research, seven experts on contemporary Nicaragua draw a balance sheet on the gains of Sandinista revolution achieved by 1990 and assess the current status of the revolutionary project.