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I caught your comment to the effect that Communism was not considered a public threat under FRANKLIN Roosevelt (which Mr. Ramirez then backed up by saying that it didn't become so until the cold war).

In fact Communism was very very very much a public concern (along familiar polemics) after 1929 and particularly as the New Deal was taking shape. The (American) Communist party was active nationally on a large scale in helping to organize eg. hunger marches and Unemployed Councils. In fact, the first committee "to investigate Communist activity in the United States" (the Fish Committee, after it's chairman congressman Colonel Hamilton Fish who served into the 1970's) was formed in 1931. Congressman Fish and other right-wingers were particularly concerned about the spread of Russian Bolshevism. Roosevelt was actually the first president to even recognize the existence of the Soviet Union despite a lack of congressional (and even public) support.

On and on...anyway, I thought I would mention this because your remark implies a significant ignorance, it might seem...

Could Sergio Ramirez comment about Nicaragua's recent anti-democratic trends?

Ortega formed an pact with Arnoldo Aleman, the ex President of Nicaragua and leader of the Liberal Party who serves a criminal sentence under house arrest for corrupt practices. These two strongmen control the legislative branch, the electoral authority, the judicial branch and the national police. Through their control of these institutions, they have postponed elections in the Atlantic coast (afro-decedent and indigenous communities) and canceled the legal standing of two opposition parties (Sandinista Renovation Movement and the Conservative Party).

Since Daniel Ortega’s election in 2006, Nicaragua has strengthened its relationship with Iran, dismantled democratic institutions and imposed party controlled neighborhood committees that will lead to clientelism.

The U.S. has pledged 175 million dollars for five years since 2005 through the Millennium Challenge Corporation with the condition that Nicaragua fight corruption and strengthen its democracy: Areas that the current Nicaraguan administration is running to the ground.

I have a petition to the U.S. Congress to give the issue due attention:

http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/democracy-transparency-in-nicaragua.html

My blog: www.nicaraguanreport.com