Cuba Transition Project: Nicaragua: Political Processes and Democratic Transition-Possible Lessons for Cuba's Future

摘要

This essay explains Nicaragua's transition to democracy from a Leninist-oriented system and tells how political parties and elections have been key variables in this transition. There are many additional, diverse interconnected factors (economic, administrative, and others of significance) that must be taken into consideration. However, such an extensive study exceeds the scope of this essay. It is doubtful that a country can make an effective transition to democracy without political parties or elections. Experiences such as China's in the 1980s with Den Xiaoping and again with Jiang Zemin indicate that controlled and effective economic- administrative reforms can coexist with a Communist Party dictatorship. In Cuba, where a closed party system persists, even economic ruin is not a sufficient cause for a change off course toward democracy.