Dual Transitions from Authoritarian Rule: Popular and Electoral Democracy in Nicaragua

This article argues that the transition to "popular revolutionary democracy" in Nicaragua was constrained by the powerful legacy of agro-export development and U.S. military and economic aggression. Eventually these constraints halted progress toward "popular revolutionary democracy" and resulted in a shift toward a liberal democratic regime with an emphasis on electoral democracy. Nevertheless, the legacy of ten years of revolution, including a significant restructuring of power and property relations, makes the consolidation of electoral democracy alone much more problematic in Nicaragua than in other Latin American cases.