These eight essays explore Costa Rica's substantial engagement in the battle of Central America (1979–90), the last major confrontation of the Cold War in Latin America, if not the world. During the civil wars that consumed Nicaragua, Guatemala, and El Salvador, Costa Ricans elected as president Óscar Arias (1986–90), who launched the regionwide peace process that ended these wars. As suggested by its grim title, the collection addresses the highly partisan (but largely nonviolent) domestic strife that marked the decade in Costa Rica.
The absolute unanimity of support among four Costa Rican periodicals for the Nicaraguan Revolution during its mobilization phase began to fade after the Sandinistas seized power on July 19, 1979. At issue, according to Leonardo Astorga Sánchez, was the question dividing Nicaraguans and opinion elsewhere: What sort of regime ought to replace the Somoza autocracy? A simple polarity quickly emerged among the four publishers: either the Frente...