Lesson 22

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Question SA-1. Here is the text reference (p. 215/2 and 217/3):

The story of the Nicaraguan Revolution bears more than passing similarity to the Cuban, although the outcome has been quite different. Like Cuba, Nicaragua had been under heavy U.S. influence for much of its history, at first because of its favorable geographic location for a possible Isthmian canal. When in 1903 the chosen route turned out to be Panama, Nicaragua's importance to U.S. policy-makers diminished considerably, although the proximity to the Panama Canal and U.S. business investments in Nicaragua continued to give it a certain priority in U.S. Central American concerns.

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Like the Cuban Revolution, and with the help of several thousand advisors and technicians from Cuba, the Soviet Block, and other countries, the Nicaraguan Revolution set out on a sweeping reform program. One of their first priorities was a crash literacy drive, and in a few months they were able to teach basic writing and reading skills to most Nicaraguans (critics noted that the literacy training also included a heavy dose of FSLN propaganda). The Revolutionary government made free health care and social services available to all Nicaraguans, and cooperatives were set up under FSLN supervision to make these services available. There was also a cultural renaissance, with an emphasis on popular involvement in the arts, music, and literature (especially poetry). Although many of these features were based on the Cuban model, the Nicaraguan Revolution always had a distinctive touch, especially the way it blended socialism, nationalism and Christianity.