Hasta La Vista, General Sandinista

By Janice Castro

VIOLETA BARRIOS DE CHAMORRO may be President of Nicaragua, but Daniel Ortega's defeated Marxist party still controls the Sandinista Popular Army. Now a group of prominent Nicaraguans calling themselves the "Civilist Movement" are working quietly to remove this Sword of Damocles by abolishing the army altogether. Its peace-keeping functions would be turned over to the national police force, which is less political. The Civilist Movement wants to offer citizens a referendum on the issue, which war-weary citizens would be likely to approve in an honest election. After all, neighboring Costa Rica has got by without an army since 1948.

With reporting by Sidney Urquhart