A Very Brief Political History of Nicaragua, Part II: Enter the Sandinistas

After Anastasio Somoza García was assassinated in 1956 his son Luís Somoza Debayle (nicknamed "Tacho") assumed the presidency.  In the aftermath of his father's assassination, Tacho showed great political skill in keeping the nation stable.  His seven years in office were benign compared to his father's regime and especially in comparison to his younger brother's regime to come.  Tacho allowed free elections in 1963 and was subsequently voted out of power when he lost to the Liberal candidate Renee Shick. 

In July 1962 while Tacho was president, a group of men who had been inspired by the success of the Cuban revolution formed the Frente Sandinista de Liberacíon Nacional (FSLN) in order to overthrow the dictatorship.  The early battles of the insurrectionist movement were crushing losses but by the end of the decade the Sandinistas had achieved greater military strength as well as widened popular support - especially among poor campesinos. 

In the election of 1967 Tacho's younger brother, Anastasio Somoza Debayle ran and won in a bitterly contested race.  "Tachito" was the third and most avaricious president of the Somoza dynasty.  Like his father, Tachito was a military man and a graduate of West Point Military Academy (1946).  Over the course of the next decade, Tachito would become the most relentless and cruel president the nation had ever seen.  As president he also resumed his former position as head of the National Guard so as to personally wage the war against the growing Sandinista movement. 

One of Tachito's greatest crimes against the Nicaraguan people occured after the devastating earthquate of December 1972 which nearly levelled Managua and killed over 10,000 people.  As assistance poured in from all over the world, Somoza saw to it that his personal bank accounts were filled with aid money which was channeled through the "emergency committee" under his control.  News of this turned even more Nicaraguans against him and one more event occurred which sealed his fate.  Just as his father had gunned down General Sandino in cold blood on the streets of Managua in 1934, Tachito had a popular newspaper editor who was outspoken against the regime assassinated in Managua in 1978.  This editor, Pedro Joaquín Chamorro, was seen by many as a potential presidential candidate.  The public backlash to the editor's assassination was swift.  One neighborhood in Masaya rose up and, in a brutal five day battle, was finally quelled after a fit of unprecedented rage by Somoza's National Guard.

This only gave the FSLN more strength and credibility among the people as the group absorbed an increasing number of trade unions, student organizations, and popular movements - both private and religious.  By May of 1979 the Sandinistas were strong enough to launch a military offensive to overthrow the dictatorship.  After a 52 day fight, Managua became surrounded and Somoza fled the country - the Sandinistas had finally achieved their goal.

The Moon Handbook says:  "Throughout history, every single revolutionary has discovered winning a war is simpler than running a nation."   This was equally true in the case of the Sandinistas because they were starting from scratch.  Somoza had run the nation as his own personal farm, and overthrowing him had meant obliterating the entire institutional infrastructure of a nation - including the economic, financial, and legislative bodies.  But the Sandinistas' challenges didn't end there -  elements of the deposed dictator's National Guard had fled to Costa Rica and Honduras in order to wage a counter-revolution, and the recently elected Reagan administration in Washington immediately seized on the Communist tendencies of the new Nicaragua and launched a political, economic, and military program designed to strangle the Sandinistas out of power.  The revolution was over but a new kind of struggle had begun for the Nicaraguan people.

...to be continued.

Comments

[Keith]

Hi
It's always good to come across other missionary blogs - I work in Burkina Faso, but am on sabbatical at the moment. I look forward to reading more of yours. God bless you.

[Goyo]

Hi Keith,

Welcome! I look forward to reading your blog about your work in Burkina Faso. Thanks for visiting.