Sandinistas Surviving In a Percentage Game

Marvin Ortega

There's a generation gap in Managua and it yawns widest between the young and old men in the city's most affluent suburbs. Is this a split between father and son debated nightly at the dining table? Or is it a gulf between two politically very different groups of neighbors?

Young men between 16 and 24 years of age are the strongest Sandinista supporters in the city. Men over 40, living in the same suburbs, are the most opposed. Managua's more comfortable neighborhoods reflect a mix of traditionally wealthy families, some of whose members have stayed on throughout the revolution, and professionals, government officials and military officers, many of whom have moved into houses vacated by departing members of the upper class.

Do these politicalfor a forthcoming issue of Encuentro, the magazine of the University of Central America. Copies of the Inter-American Research Center report, "Nicaragua Public Opinion," are available for $5 from the Central American Historical Institute (CAHI), Georgetown University, Washington, D.C. 20057.

Summary results at a glance

The survey (which is reprinted at the end of this article) revealed that a substantial block of support for the revolution still exists in Managua, despite the economic crisis that has racked the country. There is majority support for the government's foreign policy positions and the Esquipulas peace process, and substantial, although minority, support on domestic issues such as the government's handling of the economy, its political management and the draft.

The levels of support for government policies and programs compare favorably with those recorded for