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Nicaragua: from utopia to reality
How are the recent Nicaragua eleсtions to be seen to the background of Central American politics? Does the rise to power of the new president Arnoldo Alemán simply reflect the internal situation in Nicaragua or is there a more widespread ongoing tendency in Central America? At the time of writing, just after the elections of…
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Guatemala’s difficult road to peace
In the 1980s the countries in the Central American isthmus were characterised by great instability (the only exception being Costa Rica). There were civil wars in Guatemala and Salvador, the ContrasSandinistas conflict in Nicaragua with repercussions in Honduras, while Panama was under the Noriega dictatorship. All of these situations were then gradually settled and national…
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Menem re-elections in Argentina: analysis of a victory foretold
The recent presidential election in Argentina saw the victory of outgoing president Carlo Menem. What factors may be adduced to explain his victory so widely forecast by the opinion polls?First a few facts and figures: Carlos Mеnem, Partido Justicialista (Peronist) received 49.46 per cent of the votes: his two main rivals, José Octavio Bordón, Frepaso…