National Opposition Union (Nicaragua, 1990)

{{Short description|Coalition of political parties which contested the 1990 Nicaraguan general election}}

{{For|the earlier coalition of this name|National Opposition Union (Nicaragua, 1966)}}

{{Distinguish|text=the National Opposition Union (El Salvador)}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2022}}

{{Citation style|date=March 2021}}

File:Bandera Union Nacional Opositora.png

National Opposition Union ({{langx|es|Unión Nacional Opositora}}, UNO) was a Nicaraguan wide-range coalition of opposition parties formed to oppose president Daniel Ortega's Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) in the 1990 election. Its candidate Violeta Chamorro eventually won the race. UNO traced its origins back to the Nicaraguan Democratic Coordinating Group (Coordinadora Democrática Nicaragüense—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, seven could be characterised as centrist parties, and three – including Nicaragua's Communists – had traditionally been on the far left of the political spectrum.{{Cite web|url=http://www.country-data.com/frd/cs/nicaragua/ni_appen.html#table10|title = Nicaragua / Tables}}

Despite the 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 the 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 Violeta Chamorro won.[https://web.archive.org/web/20130117074255/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-1222025.html "Bush Vows to End Embargo if Chamorro Wins"], The Washington Post, 9 November 1989).

Meanwhile, resources and organisational help were given to the UNO by the United States government's National Endowment for Democracy (NED), which in June 1989 had received $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, 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.

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In the presidential election held on 25 February 1990, Violeta Barrios de Chamorro won 55% of the popular vote against Daniel Ortega's 41%.{{cite web |title=Nicaragua – The UNO Electoral Victory |url=http://countrystudies.us/nicaragua/19.htm |website=countrystudies.us |access-date=9 January 2022}}

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.