ABSTRACT
The contras' disarming and reintegration into civilian life had been on the agenda since the Esquipulas Accords were signed. In Costa del Sol, President Daniel Ortega proposed moving the 1990 national elections up from November to February to enable the contras to substitute political for military struggle and to reintegrate into civilian life. By reinfiltrating the contras and having them engage in enough visible activity so as to make their presence an issue in the media, and thus in the entire population, the United States caused the Sandinistas' claim of having defeated the contras to lose credibility. The Sandinistas gauged correctly that most Nicaraguans rejected the contras and resented US interference in their internal affairs. The Swedes had commissioned a study of the Nicaraguan economy and international aid requirements in preparation for an international donors' conference. The Nicaraguan case was unique, however, in that the counterrevolution was rural warfare.
