The Soviet Attitude to Political and Social Change in Central America - Case-studies on Nicaragua, El Salvador and Guatemala (Electronic book text)

This study examines Soviet policy towards the Sandinista left-wing government in Nicaragua and towards the guerrillas fighting for political and social change in El Salvador and Guatemala. It covers the period from the Sandinista victory in July 1979 until the loss of power in February 1990. It focuses on the chief determinants which underlay the Soviet involvement in this geographically remote area within the US immediate sphere of influence, and assesses the extent of this involvement. The Soviet-Nicaraguan relationship is examined in the context of both parties' relations with the United States, which conditioned the evolution of Soviet-Nicaraguan links. It also stresses the leading role played by Cuba, which acted in its own right, not as a mere Soviet proxy. The author concludes that the Soviet Union had no intention of establishing another socialist regime in Nicaragua or a second 'Cuba', nor of promoting a revolution in El Salvador or Guatemala. Its limited involvement in the region was aimed at distracting the US at a time when Soviet foreign policy suffered many set-backs.