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Nicaragua The Universities
Nicaragua's two principal universities, the Central
American
University (Universidad de Centroamérica--UCA) and the
National
Autonomous University of Nicaragua (Universidad Nacional
Autónoma
de Nicaragua--UNAN), are viewed as strongholds of
Sandinista
thought and sympathy, but are not considered influential
in the
political system. In 1992 Xavier Gorostiaga, a well-known
proSandinista economist and a Jesuit priest, was the rector
of the
UCA, a Jesuit-run and church-financed institution.
Alejandro
Serrano Caldera, who served the Sandinista government as
president of the Supreme Court and Nicaraguan ambassador
to the
United Nations, was the rector of the state-financed UNAN
in
1992. Both are well-known intellectuals who are viewed as
bringing academic credibility and strength to the
universities.
The universities have actively sought to protect
their
own interests. During the transition period, the country's
four
state and two private universities were granted academic,
financial, and administrative autonomy by the outgoing
Sandinista
legislature through the University Autonomy Law. The
universities
were also given the right to elect their own rectors,
faculty
council, and other governing bodies. Students, faculties,
and
administrators protested the Chamorro government's
attempts in
May 1990 to have the National Assembly suspend the
electoral
agreements in order to provide time for their review. The
government backtracked, and the National Assembly
eventually
passed a law containing only minor reforms. University
protests
were not effective against the Chamorro government budget
cuts
for the universities, which passed the National Assembly
in
December 1991 with Sandinista support.
Data as of December 1993
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