|Nicaragua Table of Contents The FSLN has maintained the
cohesion needed to continue as a potent force in Nicaraguan
politics despite an internal crisis touched off by its electoral
defeat. From the moment that Daniel Ortega publicly conceded
defeat, he launched an initiative to preserve the gains that the
Sandinista government claimed to have secured for the Nicaraguan
people and the property that the movement had acquired. However,
the performance of the FSLN leadership before and after the
elections regarding the social welfare issue became a topic of
dispute among the leaders of the groups and between the
leadership and the local members. The dispute was so severe that
it threatened to destroy the cohesive party apparatus and
discipline that the movement had created over almost three
decades of struggle and power. In his concession speech,
President Ortega in essence foreswore the FSLN's identity as a
"vanguard party" and called on the FSLN to play a role as a
strong but loyal opposition party. In subsequ