Factionalism in the Communist Movement in Nepal

T HE COLLAPSE OF COMMUNISM in Eastern Europe also led to the collapse of Communist military dictatorship and one-party authoritarian regimes in many countries. By early 1991, a number of these regimes were transformed into pluralistic democratic systems. There are only four countries in the world that are nominally under the grip of Communist dictatorship: the Peoples Republic of China, North Korea, Vietnam, and Cuba. However, Communist opposition is posing serious challenges to many new democracies. Supporters and workers of the former Communist regimes have either come to power or have emerged as the parliamentary opposition in some East European countries that were transformed into a democracy in recent years. Other countries such as Peru and Angola are facing daunting challenges from the left-wing guerrillas. Challenges from the Communist organizations in many Third World democracies are not wholly determined by class conflict, but are also the product of the opposition's ability to capitalize on nationalist and ethnic issues. In April 1990, Nepal became one of the countries that has recently been transformed from an absolute to a constitutional monarchy with a multiparty democracy. The country had its first parliamentary elections in thirty-two years in May 1991 and the Nepali Congress party, which won a simple majority, is now the ruling party while the United Marxist-Leninist party (UML) occupies the role of the opposition. Besides the UML, there are three smaller Communist factions in the parliament and over a dozen who resort to street politics. Poverty associated with a higher incidence of socioeconomic inequalities, geographical proximity with communist China, and India's growing