Central America the Propaganda War

For the citizens of Uruguay, the occasion was a civic triumph: the inauguration of Julio Maria Sanguinetti, 49, as the tiny South American country's first democratically elected President in 13 years. But for much of the hemisphere, the spotlight in the capital of Montevideo was focused last week on two of the official guests at the ceremonies, Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega Saavedra and U.S. Secretary of State George Shultz. The question: After days of high-profile posturing by their respective governments, would the two men agree to talk over their differences?

Ortega made the first move. While the inauguration was taking place, Nicaraguan representatives ascended from their third-floor quarters in Montevideo's aging Victoria Plaza Hotel to the heavily guarded fifth floor. There, they formally asked Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Latin American Affairs Craig Johnstone for a meeting with Shultz. The U.S. had already decided to agree.

Thus, on Saturday morning, Shultz and Ortega closeted themselves for an hour. Following the session, however, the Secretary of State concluded that "it's hard to know if anything was achieved." Said Shultz: "Ortega reiterated the points he has stated publicly before, and I stated again the objectives the U.S. and our friends in the region have consistently advocated for several years." For his part, Ortega said that Washington should "show greater maturity" in dealing with Nicaragua. Said he: "Instead of military solutions, let's seek specific solutions."

The Shultz-Ortega exchange was a brief respite from the heated propaganda battle that went on last week between the Reagan Administration and the Sandinistas. From Montevideo to the Nicaraguan capital of Managua to hearing rooms on Capitol Hill, the adversaries were engaged in rhetorical offensives to win the support, not so much of Central Americans, but of U.S. Congressmen. The hope on both sides: to sway U.S. legislators as they ponder the question of restoring aid to some 12,500 U.S.-backed contra rebels who are fighting the Nicaraguan regime. At week's end the funding struggle remained deadlocked, and Congress seemed no more inclined than before to accede to the Administration's aggressive efforts on behalf of the insurgents.

The latest campaign began two weeks ago with President Reagan's televised assertion that he would like to see the "present structure" of the Sandinista regime removed. As he put it, Reagan wanted to make its leaders "say uncle" and include the contra opposition in their government. The President's remarks represented his most forthright departure to date from his previous insistence that the purpose of U.S. support for the contras was to force Nicaragua to cut off, or at least reduce, support for insurgents in neighboring El Salvador. Reagan's words seemed designed to jar Congress into releasing $14 million in contra aid. Congress had agreed to that allocation last October, but then held back for a second vote originally scheduled for this month.