TRANSPORT STRIKE SETTLED.

Nicaragua has returned to normal with an agreement between the Government and public transport workers that puts an end to a five-day strike, during which the army and police violently cracked down on angry workers, reports IPS (May 5, 1999). The agreement put an end to more than a month of protests and street violence that left two dead and 48 wounded, and caused more than US$34 million in economic losses. To put an end to the strike, conservative President Arnoldo Aleman was forced to back down on the liberalization of the transport sector. The announced measures would have allowed powerful companies to enter the market and compete with the cooperatives of owners of just one or a few vehicles, which account for 95% of all cargo and passenger transport in Nicaragua.