National Opposition Union ( es, Unión Nacional Opositora, UNO) was a

Nicaraguan Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the countr ...

wide-range coalition of opposition parties formed to oppose president

Daniel Ortega José Daniel Ortega Saavedra (; born 11 November 1945) is a Nicaraguans, Nicaraguan revolutionary and politician serving as President of Nicaragua since 2007. Previously he was leader of Nicaragua from 1979 to 1990, first as coordinator of the ...

Sandinista National Liberation Front The Sandinista National Liberation Front ( es, Frente Sandinista de Liberación Nacional, FSLN) is a Socialism, socialist political party in Nicaragua. Its members are called Sandinistas () in both English and Spanish. The party is named after ...

(FSLN) in the 1990 election. Its candidate

Violeta Chamorro Violeta Barrios Torres de Chamorro (; 18 October 1929) is a Nicaraguan politician who served as President of Nicaragua from 1990 to 1997. She was the first and, as of 2022, only woman to hold the position of president of Nicaragua. Born into ...

eventually won the race. UNO traced its origins back to the Nicaraguan Democratic Coordinating Group (

Coordinadora Democrática Nicaragüense The Coordinadora Democrática Nicaragüense (''Democratic Coordinating Committee'', CDN) was a coalition of three right-wing Nicaraguan parties which boycotted the 1984 Nicaraguan general election. The parties were the Social Christians, the (right- ...

—CDN), which was formed in 1982 by different opposition groups. At the time of the election, of the UNO coalition's fourteen political parties, four were considered

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

, seven could be characterised as

centrist Centrism is a political outlook or position involving acceptance or support of a balance of social equality and a degree of social hierarchy while opposing political changes that would result in a significant shift of society strongly to the l ...

parties, and three – including Nicaragua's Communists – had traditionally been on the far left of the political spectrum. Despite internal struggle, the UNO coalition under Violeta Chamorro succeeded in its campaign centered on the economic downfall and promises of peace. Chamorro promised to end military draft, initiate democratic reconciliation, and restore economic growth. Many Nicaraguans felt that the contra war and bad economy would continue if the FSLN remained in power, because of the strong United States opposition to the FSLN (in November 1989, the White House had announced that the economic embargo against Nicaragua would end if

won.). Meanwhile, resources and organisational help were given to the UNO by the United States government's

National Endowment for Democracy The National Endowment for Democracy (NED) is an organization in the United States that was founded in 1983 for promoting democracy in other countries by promoting political and economic institutions such as political groups, trade unions, ...

(NED), which in June 1989 had receive $2 million from U.S. Congress, which had also approved in April 1989 a package of $49.75 million in 'nonlethal' aid to the

Contras The Contras were the various U.S.-backed and funded right-wing rebel groups that were active from 1979 to 1990 in opposition to the Marxist Sandinista Junta of National Reconstruction Government in Nicaragua, which came to power in 1979 fol ...

, which funded their pro-UNO propaganda campaign. Some villages reported threats of murder from the Contras if they voted for the FSLN in the elections. In the presidential election held on 25 February 1990,

Violeta Barrios de Chamorro Violeta Barrios Torres de Chamorro (; 18 October 1929) is a Nicaraguan politician who served as President of Nicaragua from 1990 to 1997. She was the first and, as of 2022, only woman to hold the position of president of Nicaragua. Born int ...

won 55% of the popular vote against Daniel Ortega's 41%. The UNO disbanded in the mid-1990s, after a very fractious rule during which little progress was made. The most positive consequence of their electoral victory was the end of the Contra War and the US economic embargo.

Member parties

The APC, PANC, and PCN announced in 1992 that they would merge as the National Conservative Party (Partido Conservador Nationalista—PCN) for the 1996 elections.

References

External links

*http://www.country-data.com/cgi-bin/query/r-9286.html *https://web.archive.org/web/20061110115230/http://www.nicaraguasc.org.uk/aboutnicaragua/from1979.htm *https://www.nytimes.com/1990/03/01/world/turnover-in-nicaragua-the-parties-that-beat-the-sandinistas.html {{Nicaraguan political parties Organizations of the Nicaraguan Revolution Political parties established in 1990 Political history of Nicaragua Defunct political parties in Nicaragua Political party alliances in Nicaragua