Nicaraguan Leaders Meet

A Sandinista-dominated national assembly opened in Managua, Nicaragua, with the mission of writing a revolutionary constitution that will be “a new experience in Latin America.” The 96-member National Constituent Assembly, which will act as a national legislature, elected Carlos Nunez, a top Sandinista commander, as chairman. Nunez told the assembly that the constitution it will debate and approve will be a “product of the revolution that destroyed the whole political and legal order of the system of exploitation that had ruled in our country since colonial times.” Some opposition politicians fear that the Sandinistas will impose a constitution based on Marxist-Leninist principles. Nunez did not elaborate on his vision of the constitution, but said the assembly will create “a political system framed in the reality of the revolution.” The Marxist-led Sandinistas seized power in July, 1979, after leading a revolt against right-wing dictator Anastasio Somoza.