ABSTRACT
Only in the 1970s did the Nicaraguan labor movement really come into its own as an independent force, and even then it was primarily the actions of rural and urban workers organized into other forms and on their own that gave the greatest impetus to the Nicaraguan revolution. The resurgence of revolutionary movements in Central America comes as no surprise to those familiar with the history of the region. In defiance of ever-louder efforts by the US foreign policy establishment to downplay and even deny the indigenous roots of their struggle, the popular majorities of Central America have begun to break the silence imposed on their history. Substantial industrialization and a large measure of economic integration altered the class configuration of Central America. The major consequence was the increase in proletarianization in countries which had heretofore been among Latin America's weakest and most backward.
