ABSTRACT
There is clearly something different about the revolution in Nicaragua. The Nicaraguan revolution—even before political victory—was overwhelming and profoundly conditioned by the international context. This chapter offers a preliminary assessment of consolidation, based on a small-scale investigation of consolidation in Nicaragua during 1988-1989. It discusses the primary indicators of consolidation—trust, opportunity, and a vision of the future, bound together by a sense of empowerment. The chapter describes institutionalization in Nicaragua, paying specific attention to the international and domestic context of the 1990 election. It explores the juncture between institutionalization and consolidation in terms of the 1990 Nicaragua election and briefly considers the implications of the 1996 election. The 1990 election campaign has largely been treated as a contest between the incumbent Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) and the National Opposition Union (UNO) coalition. Perhaps the strongest indicator, however, which will be explored later, was the peaceful transfer of power after the 1990 election.
