(23 May 1995) Spanish/Nat

President Violeta Chamorro is coming under increasing pressure to prove to the Nicaraguan people as well as the nation's opposition that her administration is still in power.

A power struggle over constitutional reforms and an almost stagnant economy have been the catalyst for several weeks of unrest in the Central American nation and calls for Chamorro to step down.

These scenes could be of the Nicaragua of the 1980s.

But, this is not the Managua of the Sandinistas. It is the Managua of President Violeta Chamorro.

Chamorro ended a decade of Sandinista rule when she was democratically elected to the presidency in 1989.

Much of what was wrong with Nicaragua was blamed on the Sandinistas.

But, in the Nicaragua of the 1990s, not much has changed.

SOUNDBITE: (In Spanish)
"Yes, there's no work. The majority of our husbands are unemployed. We women have to work in order to survive and feed our children."
SUPER CAPTION: Nicaraguan woman

Chamorro is fighting against members of the three opposition parties who want to push through a constitutional reform aimed at not letting her son-in-law run for the presidency.

She also must attempt to quell recent violent clashes between Sandinista labour unions and the government.

SOUNDBITE: (In Spanish)
"Neither this government is any good, nor the one before it."
SUPER CAPTION: Nicaraguan woman

The only thing that has changed in Nicaragua is that the once powerful Sandinista movement headed by former President Daniel Ortega has splintered beyond repair.

SOUNDBITE: (In Spanish)
"The Sandinista Front, having been a glorious party of 20 years of guerrilla struggle against the Somoza dynasty, and after a glorious government for 10 years, after it lost the elections it became totally corrupt.
SUPER CAPTION: Ernesto Cardenal - Former Sandinista official

SOUNDBITE: (In Spanish)
"After he took total control of the party and after the elections, Daniel Ortega became like an authoritarian dictator."
SUPER CAPTION: Ernesto Cardenal - Former Sandinista official

President Chamorro must find a way to bring all sectors of a conflictive Nicaraguan society to a feasible agreement so that the government can go on with the most pressing task - economic growth.

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