Nicaraguan Revolution: Causes and Consequences

The Nicaraguan revolution Was known as an"open process"that extended from 1978 to 1990 and succeeded in overthrowing the dictatorship of the Somoza dynasty by instituting a progressive leftist government.

The revolution was carried out by the Sandinista National Liberation Front at a time when Latin America experienced a period of great political uncertainty dominated by constant struggles between left and right factions and American interference.

Nicaraguan Revolution: Causes and Consequences Sandinista Front of National Liberation in the taking of the National Palace

Given the constant presence of the United States in Nicaragua's politics and economy, along with the existence of a right-wing dictatorial government in power since 1937, many leftist leaders began to react.

One of them was the nationalist leader Augusto Sandino who would strongly reject the active participation of the United States and the support given to the dictatorial government of Anastasio Somoza, thus giving rise to the famous Nicaraguan revolution.

Origins of the Revolution in Nicaragua

The history goes back to 1926 when the hero of the resistance Augusto Sandino begins to carry out a revolution against the North American occupation and the mandate of Anastasio Somoza Garci'a.

His followers became a leftist guerrilla who was implicated in the massacre of several US Marines, initiating a fight that would be maintained until 1934 when Somoza suggested to him to establish a peace agreement and in this murderous meeting the leader of left .

Somoza plunged the country into institutional chaos and by that time civil society did not have the capacity or freedom to organize, opposition political parties were non-existent, and trade unions and peasant leagues lacked political representation.

Hence Nicaragua was governed by two successive generations of the Somoza family, being first presidents, Luis Somoza Debayle and later, Anastasio Somoza Debayle.

Beginning in 1959, the United States administration, under the figure of President Eisenhower, initiated a state policy aimed at overthrowing all left-wing governments in the hemisphere

Hence in the case of Nicaragua the United States were the main allies of the dictatorship Somoza and those in charge of destroying any leftist revolutionary force.

The rise of the Sandinista National Liberation Front

By 1970, however, the Sandinista National Liberation Front (named after the late leader Sandino) had grown in popularity and threatened Somoza's hegemony.

The front elaborated a democratic proposal that convinced not only the peasant, rural and low classes of Nicaragua, but in turn to the middle class that was excluded and affected by the economic policies of the Somoza regime.

This proposal sought to establish a democratic republican system where there is universal suffrage and citizen participation, along with economic equality and an equitable distribution of wealth, promising an agrarian revolution and job security.

In August 1978, 24 Sandinista guerrillas took the National Palace of Managua, and by 1979 the Sandinistas seized political power in the country.

They drafted a provisional constitution focused on respect for human rights and freedom of expression, abolishing torture.

They carried out a national crusade of literacy that improved the education of the Nicaraguans, but did not make elections but formed an authoritarian junta with five Sandinista officers, among them Daniel Ortega and Violeta Barrios de Chamorro.

They also established strong international alliances with Cuba and the Soviet Union.

Beginnings of the Civil War

In carrying out the Agrarian Reform Law, the Sandinistas deprived their land of multiple landowners, who went to the northern rural region along the border with Honduras and the Atlantic coast, becoming an armed resistance denominated"The Contra"and That supported by the United States with the administration of Ronald Reagan transformed into an armed guerrilla army.

From that moment a civil war began between the Sandinista forces and those of the contra, so in 1985 Ortega created a national assembly and focused all its political and economic forces in the fight against the resistance.

Hence, the democratic ideals and their social and economic proposals passed into the background.

The guerrillas increased and the presence of political oppression and constant violations of human rights were present for ten years, so in 1990, when the situation became unsustainable, Ortega decided to hold elections.

After winning Violeta Barrios de Chamorro with the National Union of Opposition party, a new peaceful democratic period is established.

Causes of the Nicaraguan Revolution

Assassination of Augusto Sandino

After the assassination of left-wing leader Sandino in 1934 by the US military and dictator Somoza, the Sandinista National Liberation Front emerged with all the leftist leaders who wanted to establish a new government and start the revolution.

Triumph of the Cuban Revolution

After being overthrown in 1959 the Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista, the Sandinistas found a stimulus for their struggles against the dictatorship.

The ideas of Karl Marx , Friedrich Engels, Augusto Sandino and the Marxist theology of liberation sustained their revolution.

Earthquake in Managua

Occurred in the year 1972, brought serious economic and social consequences for the middle classes and especially low of the country.

After more than 10,000 people died and 75% of the homes were destroyed, Nicaraguans and especially the Sandinista National Liberation Front carried out various protests in response to the government's weak response.

This generated a wave of demonstrations that would continue until the revolution and that managed to damage the international image of the Somoza government.

Death of Pedro Joaquín Chamorro

An American journalist who wrote against the dictatorship and director of the famous newspaper"La Prensa", he was the main political opponent of the regime and a great ally of the Sandinista forces.

His death brought with it great confusion and encouraged the Sandinistas to continue their revolution.

Economic instability

Throughout the dictatorship of the Somoza, the economy in Nicaragua was structured on the basis of American interests. Who supplied their market with raw materials from the country.

This situation affected many peasants by the rapid expansion of coffee and cotton cultivation, causing losses of land and crops and a generalized increase in unemployment.

By 1975 private investment weakened and there was a serious crisis of financial insolvency, economic imbalances and low growth.

Consequences of the Nicaraguan Revolution

Loss of life

Between 1972 and 1991 in Nicaragua there were approximately 65,000 deaths, due to the strong civil war between the Sandinistas and Contra.

Critical socio-economic situation

When Victoria Chamorro arrived, she inherited a country in crisis, having to rebuild the entire social system and invest considerable amounts of the budget in instituting extensive control over the economy, the legal system and political institutions.

Unstable civil society

After the 1990 elections, even hundreds of thousands of Nicaraguans remained armed, creating a climate of violence among the population.

Political culture destroyed

After the dictatorship and the revolution, Nicaragua's political culture was submerged in a lack of institutional trust and a marked tendency towards the personalization of political projects, the systematic elimination of the opponent and the arbitrary exercise of politics.

References

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