fire.
Just two days later the!
and Morazan provinces from control.
America.
spelt out that successtul revolution area could easil!
the region'.
supported aggression. 'we should not, and will nor.
their oon people.
Population: 3 million Main products: cotton, coffee, sugar.
Economic structure: banks, insurance comfishing industry Dallas. and mines are nationalised, together with 30 per cent of agriculture and 40 per cent of the rest of industry. State monopocredit for ramired credit. 'mixed but growing state sector.
ture: revolutionary sandinsta National Libera(FSLN).
FSLN government based on mass organisations CDS (Sandinista Defence Committees), popular militias, CST organisation) orzallisalulls. organisations etc situation: -rection the FLN inrection FSLN herited an economy state of collapse. They have been engaged in long process of Food has increased 40 per cent since the revolution. Free medical and dental care has been introduced. Infant mortality has declined spectacularly.
Illiteracy has declined
GUERRILLAs of the Salvadorean EMIN dealt a devastating reply to President Reagan last wech. follow ing his speech in Congress in which he said that the "Americas were on swept into the north western town of Santa Rose de Lima. effectivel! isolating large areas di La Union government Reagan's speech to a syncophantic Congress was a masterpiece of hospocrisy — bur during it he in effect spelt our what was evactIy at stake for the I'nited States in Central He called the area our front vard, and spread further afield in Latin America. He pointed out that half our suppliesto our NATO allies go via the seas of Reagan's hypocris! lay in his diatribes about the region being a 'magnel for adventurin' and a victim of 'evernally Not a word about the grinding povert!. the victims of the right wing death squads. the savagers of the military dictators, which even the Economist calls the piranha right'.
Most breath-taking of all was his assertion that the l nited States was not trying lo overthron the Sandinistas in Nicaragua bur proreet the Nicaraguan government from the anger of from 50 per cent to 10 per cent.
Political support for revolution among the middle class has declined as the FSLN has moved to more openly socialist orientation.
Opposition the country include COSEP (employers federation), Constitutional Liberal Movement (MLC), and the Social Democratic Party (PSD). Main voice of the opposition is the daily paper La Prensa US intervention: US supports, finance guerrilla groups of the Somocistas, DuUporters of the late dictator somoza, based in Honduras.
They are organised in the Nicaraguan Democratic Union (UDN), led by Fernando Chamorro.
This force is responsible for the cross-border incursions in the last two months. us aims to br. ing down FSLN government.
Operation is controlled by US embassy Honduran capital TegCIA has new alliance with Democratic revolutional (ARDE) in Costa Rica, SUDDULLCID of former FSLN commander Eden Pastora.
MEXICO EL SALVI Pacific Ocea/ Despite the grovelling response 1o Reagan in the Congress, the biggest cheers were for his promise that diS combat troops would not be sent io Central America. The volume of cheering for that particular point caught Reagan off guard.
But as the Sunda! Times pointed out last wech, such a promise was in contradiction to everything else that Reagan said. Ii the threat to L's interests reali! is so Times. then troops would have to be used an some point.
The Congress has gisen Reagan half of the $100m he wants to boost the Salvadorcan army. "Our cup is halt full' said the President "and we'll come back for the rest'.
Without some dramatic more from the United Sates. the within months of falling.
Central America escalates, we publish belon a country-bs-country guide to the contlici. Womens militia in Nicaragua caribbean sas great. argued the Salvadorean regime do the lighting in