Political history of Nicaragua
Encyclopedia
Much of Nicaragua
's early politics following independence was characterized by the rivalry between the liberal elite of León
and the conservative elite of Granada
. This rivalry sometimes spilled into civil war
. Initially invited by Francisco Castellon
in 1854 to join their struggle against the conservatives, US-born adventurer William Walker arrived in 1855 and won the Liberals' war so easily that it seemed that he barely fought. As a result, he saw the chance to take over the country. He appointed himself president in 1856. Fearing his plans for expansion, several Central America
n countries united to drive Walker out of Nicaragua in 1857. They were supported by the United States industrialist Cornelius Vanderbilt
, who had originally sponsored Walker in Nicaragua. Walker was executed in neighboring Honduras
on Sept. 12, 1860. Three decades of conservative rule followed.
Taking advantage of divisions among conservatives, José Santos Zelaya
led a liberal revolt that brought him to power in 1893. He ended the long-standing dispute with the United Kingdom
over the Atlantic Coast in 1894, and incorporated the Mosquito Coast
into Nicaragua.
Nicaragua was the first country to ratify the UN Charter, and declared war on Germany
during World War II
. No troops were sent to the war but Somoza
used the crisis to seize attractive properties held by German-Nicaraguans, the best known of which was the Montelimar
estate. Today it is operated as a privately-owned luxury resort and casino.
Because of the strategic importance of Nicaragua in the hemisphere, the United States (US) made numerous military interventions to protect what it believed were its interests in the region:
Nicaragua has had numerous and lengthy periods when the country was ruled by military dictatorship. The longest was the rule of the Somoza
family for much of the 20th century. The Somoza family came to power as part of a US-engineered Pact of Espino Negro
in 1927; it stipulated the formation of the National Guard to replace the small individual armies that had supported separate fiefdoms in the country. The only Nicaraguan general to refuse to sign this pact (el tratado del Espino Negro) was Augusto César Sandino
. He took refuge in the northern mountains of Las Segovias, from where he fought the US Marines for over five years.
After U.S. Marines withdrew from Nicaragua in January 1933, Sandino and the newly-elected Sacasa government reached an agreement by which he would cease his guerrilla activities in return for amnesty, a grant of land for an agricultural colony, and retention of an armed band of 100 men for a year. There followed a growing hostility between Sandino and Anastasio Somoza Garcia, chief of the national guard, which prompted Somoza to order the assassination of Sandino. Fearing future armed opposition from Sandino, Somoza invited him to a meeting in Managua, where Sandino was assassinated on February 21 of 1934 by the National Guard. Following the death of Sandino was the execution of hundreds of men, women, and children.
With Sandino's death and using his troops, the National Guard, to force Sacasa to resign, Somoza had taken control of the country in 1937 and destroyed any potential armed resistance. Somoza was in turn assassinated by Rigoberto López Pérez
, a Nicaraguan poet, in 1956. Luis Somoza Debayle
, the eldest son of the late dictator, officially took charge of Nicaragua after his father's death.
Luis Somoza, remembered by some for being moderate, was in power for only a few years before dying of a heart attack
. Then came president, Rene Schick, whom most Nicaraguans viewed "as nothing more than a puppet
of the Somozas". Somoza's brother, Anastasio Somoza Debayle
, who succeeded his father in charge of the National Guard, held control of the country, and officially took the presidency after Schick. In 1961, a young student, Carlos Fonseca
, turned back to the historical figure of Sandino, and founded the Sandinista National Liberation Front
(FSLN). The FSLN was a tiny party throughout most of the 1960s, but Somoza's hatred of it, and his repressive treatment of anyone suspected as a Sandinista sympathizer, gave many ordinary Nicaraguans the idea that the Sandinistas were much stronger than was the case.
Some Nicaraguan historians point to the 1972 earthquake
that devastated Managua
as the final 'nail in the coffin' for Somoza. Some 90% of the city was destroyed. Somoza's brazen corruption, mishandling of relief (which prompted Pittsburgh Pirates
star Roberto Clemente
to fly to Managua on December 31, 1972 to try to help - a flight that ended in his death) and refusal to rebuild Managua, flooded the ranks of the Sandinistas with young disaffected Nicaraguans who no longer had anything to lose.
Somoza acquired monopolies in industries that were key to rebuilding the nation, not allowing other members of the upper class to share the profits that would result from the reborn economic activity. This weakened Somoza further since even the economic elite were reluctant to support him. In 1976 a synthetic brand of cotton
, one of Nicaragua's economic pillars of the epoch, was developed. This caused the price of cotton to decrease, placing the economy
in great trouble.
These economic problems propelled the Sandinistas forward in their struggle against Somoza by leading many middle and upper class Nicaraguans to see the Sandinistas as the only hope for ridding the country of the brutal Somoza regime. The January 1978 assassination of Pedro Joaquin Chamorro, the editor of an important newspaper in Nicaragua and an ardent opponent of Somoza, is believed to have been the spark that that led to extreme general disappointment against Somoza. The intellectual planners and perpetrators of the murder were at the highest echelons of the Somoza regime and included the dictator's son, “El Chiguin”, Somoza’s President of Housing, Cornelio Hueck, Somoza’s Attorney General, and Pedro Ramos, a close Cuba
n ally who commercialized in illegal blood plasma.
The Sandinistas, supported by much of the populace, elements of the Catholic Church, and regional and international governments took power in July 1979. Somoza abandoned the country and eventually ended up in Paraguay
, where he was assassinated in September 1980, allegedly by members of the 'Argentinian Revolutionary Workers' Party.
The key large scale programs of the Sandinistas included a massive National Literacy Crusade (March-August, 1980), social program], which received international recognition for their gains in literacy
, health care
, education
, childcare
, union
s, and land reform
.
United States President Jimmy Carter
, who had cut off aid to Somoza's Nicaragua the previous year, initially chose to give aid to the new government, but the amount of aid lessened towards the end of his presidency and was completely cut off by President Reagan
due to evidence of Sandinista support to FMLN rebels in El Salvador
. Prior to U.S. aid withdrawal, Bayardo Arce, an FSLN politician, had stated that "Nicaragua is the only country building its socialism with the dollars of imperialism." The Reagan administration retorted imposing economic sanctions and a trade embargo against Nicaragua.
After a brief period of these sanctions, Nicaragua was faced with a collapsing economy (see: Economy of Nicaragua
). The U.S. trained and illegally financed the Contras, which were a counter-revolutionary group, in neighboring Honduras
to impose an American-friendly government and militarily oppose the current government and the Nicaraguan army. The Soviet Union and Cuba
were also heavily funding the Nicaraguan army. On June 27, 1986, the International Court of Justice in the “Case Concerning the Military and Paramilitary Activities In and Against Nicaragua (NICARAGUA v. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA)” acknowledged the nature of the conflict in Nicaragua as one of aggression directed by a foreign power against Nicaragua. In a twelve to three vote, the Court’s summary judgment against the United States stated that by:
The US support for the Contras sparked widespread criticism from many quarters around the globe including within Nicaragua and the U.S., Democrats in Congress included. When Congress moved to cut off aid to the Contras, Reagan aide Col. Oliver North
concocted a clandestine and ingenious plan to continue funding the Contras terrorists see: Iran-Contra Affair
.
Daniel Ortega
was overwhelmingly elected President in 1984. The November 1984 elections
were certified "fair" by some Western NGOs allowed into Nicaragua. Three right-wing opposition parties (Coordinadora Democrática Nicaragüense
) boycotted the election
, claiming that the Sandinistas were manipulating the media and that the elections might not be fair. The years of war and Nicaragua's economic situation had taken an unparalleled toll on Nicaragua. The US Government offered a political amnesty program that gave visas to any Nicaraguan without question. Nicaraguans (particularly those who could afford passage or had familial connections within the US) left the country in droves. This was the largest emigration ever seen in the history of Nicaragua.
"In 1984, controversy over U.S. assistance to the opponents of the Nicaraguan government (the anti-Sandinista guerrillas known as the “contras”) led to a prohibition on such assistance in a continuing appropriations bill." [Congressional Research Service, Congressional Use of Funding Cutoffs Since 1970 Involving U.S. Military Forces and Overseas Deployments, January 10, 2001, pg. 6.] http://www.fas.org/man/crs/RS20775.pdf
Nicaragua won a historic case against the U.S. at the International Court of Justice
in 1986 (see Nicaragua v. United States), and the U.S. was ordered to pay Nicaragua some $12 billion in reparations for violating Nicaraguan sovereignty by engaging in attacks against it. The United States withdrew its acceptance of the Court and argued it had no authority in matters of sovereign state relations. In addition, the U.S. noted that Cuba and the Soviet Union also unfairly committed exactly the same alleged violation against Nicaraguan sovereignty by providing training and ammunition to Sandinistas while Somoza was in power. The U.S. government, standing on this arbitrary principle, refused to pay restitutions, even when a United Nations General Assembly resolution on the matter had been passed.
Nicaragua
Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...
's early politics following independence was characterized by the rivalry between the liberal elite of León
León, Nicaragua
León is a department in northwestern Nicaragua . It is also the second largest city in Nicaragua, after Managua. It was founded by the Spaniards as Santiago de los Caballeros de León and rivals Granada, Nicaragua, in the number of historic Spanish colonial homes and churches...
and the conservative elite of Granada
Granada, Nicaragua
Granada is a city in western Nicaragua and the capital of the Granada Department. With an estimated population of 110,326 , it is Nicaragua's fourth most populous city. Granada is historically one of Nicaragua's most important cities, economically and politically...
. This rivalry sometimes spilled into civil war
Civil war
A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same nation state or republic, or, less commonly, between two countries created from a formerly-united nation state....
. Initially invited by Francisco Castellon
Francisco Castellón
Francisco Castellón Sanabria was president of "Democratic" Nicaragua from 1854-1855 during the Granada-León civil war.Castellón was a lawyer from León. He was prime minister under Patricio Rivas, but was removed in 1841 by Pablo Buitrago, and reappointed in 1843 by Manuel Perez...
in 1854 to join their struggle against the conservatives, US-born adventurer William Walker arrived in 1855 and won the Liberals' war so easily that it seemed that he barely fought. As a result, he saw the chance to take over the country. He appointed himself president in 1856. Fearing his plans for expansion, several Central America
Central America
Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...
n countries united to drive Walker out of Nicaragua in 1857. They were supported by the United States industrialist Cornelius Vanderbilt
Cornelius Vanderbilt
Cornelius Vanderbilt , also known by the sobriquet Commodore, was an American entrepreneur who built his wealth in shipping and railroads. He was also the patriarch of the Vanderbilt family and one of the richest Americans in history...
, who had originally sponsored Walker in Nicaragua. Walker was executed in neighboring Honduras
Honduras
Honduras is a republic in Central America. It was previously known as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras, which became the modern-day state of Belize...
on Sept. 12, 1860. Three decades of conservative rule followed.
Taking advantage of divisions among conservatives, José Santos Zelaya
José Santos Zelaya
José Santos Zelaya López was the President of Nicaragua from 25 July 1893 to 21 December 1909.-Early life:He was a son of José María Zelaya Irigoyen, born in Nicaragua, and mistress Juana López Ramírez...
led a liberal revolt that brought him to power in 1893. He ended the long-standing dispute with the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
over the Atlantic Coast in 1894, and incorporated the Mosquito Coast
Mosquito Coast
The Caribbean Mosquito Coast historically consisted of an area along the Atlantic coast of present-day Nicaragua and Honduras, and part of the Western Caribbean Zone. It was named after the local Miskito Indians and long dominated by British interests...
into Nicaragua.
Nicaragua was the first country to ratify the UN Charter, and declared war on Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. No troops were sent to the war but Somoza
Somoza
The Somoza family was an influential political dynasty who ruled Nicaragua as an hereditary dictatorship. Their influence exceeded their combined 43 years in the de facto presidency, as they were the power behind the other presidents of the time through their control of the National Guard...
used the crisis to seize attractive properties held by German-Nicaraguans, the best known of which was the Montelimar
Montelimar Beach
Montelimar is a beach located on the Pacific coast of Nicaragua in the department of Managua. Montelimar consists of 3 km of white sand beach. The main tourist attraction is the Barcelo Hotel and Resort...
estate. Today it is operated as a privately-owned luxury resort and casino.
Because of the strategic importance of Nicaragua in the hemisphere, the United States (US) made numerous military interventions to protect what it believed were its interests in the region:
- 1894: Month-long occupation of BluefieldsBluefieldsBluefields is the capital of the municipality of the same name, and of Región Autónoma del Atlántico Sur in Nicaragua. It was also capital of the former Zelaya Department, which was divided into North and South Atlantic Autonomous Regions...
- 1896: Marines land in port of CorintoCorinto, NicaraguaCorinto is a town of 17,000 on the northwest Pacific coast of Nicaragua in the province of Chinandega. The municipality was founded in 1863 and was named in honour of the Greek city of Corinth.- Economy :...
- 1898: Marines land at port of San Juan del SurSan Juan del SurSan Juan del Sur is a municipality and coastal town on the Pacific Ocean, in the Rivas department in south-west Nicaragua. San Juan del Sur is popular among surfers and is a vacation spot for many Nicaraguan families and foreign tourists....
- 1899: Marines land at port of Bluefields
- 1907: "Dollar Diplomacy" protectorate set up
- 1910: Marines land in Bluefields and Corinto
- 1912-33: Bombing, 20-year occupation, fought guerrillas
- 1981-90: CIA directs exile (Contra) revolution, plants harbor mines against government
Nicaragua has had numerous and lengthy periods when the country was ruled by military dictatorship. The longest was the rule of the Somoza
Somoza
The Somoza family was an influential political dynasty who ruled Nicaragua as an hereditary dictatorship. Their influence exceeded their combined 43 years in the de facto presidency, as they were the power behind the other presidents of the time through their control of the National Guard...
family for much of the 20th century. The Somoza family came to power as part of a US-engineered Pact of Espino Negro
Pact of Espino Negro
Pact of Espino Negro was an agreement developed by the United States to resolve the political conflict in Nicaragua-Background:In 1924, moderate conservative Carlos Solórzano was elected president of Nicaragua and Juan Bautista Sacasa, who had served as Vice-President under overthrown President...
in 1927; it stipulated the formation of the National Guard to replace the small individual armies that had supported separate fiefdoms in the country. The only Nicaraguan general to refuse to sign this pact (el tratado del Espino Negro) was Augusto César Sandino
Augusto César Sandino
Augusto Nicolás Calderón Sandino was a Nicaraguan revolutionary and leader of a rebellion against the U.S. military occupation of Nicaragua between 1927 and 1933...
. He took refuge in the northern mountains of Las Segovias, from where he fought the US Marines for over five years.
After U.S. Marines withdrew from Nicaragua in January 1933, Sandino and the newly-elected Sacasa government reached an agreement by which he would cease his guerrilla activities in return for amnesty, a grant of land for an agricultural colony, and retention of an armed band of 100 men for a year. There followed a growing hostility between Sandino and Anastasio Somoza Garcia, chief of the national guard, which prompted Somoza to order the assassination of Sandino. Fearing future armed opposition from Sandino, Somoza invited him to a meeting in Managua, where Sandino was assassinated on February 21 of 1934 by the National Guard. Following the death of Sandino was the execution of hundreds of men, women, and children.
With Sandino's death and using his troops, the National Guard, to force Sacasa to resign, Somoza had taken control of the country in 1937 and destroyed any potential armed resistance. Somoza was in turn assassinated by Rigoberto López Pérez
Rigoberto López Pérez
Rigoberto López Pérez was a Nicaraguan poet and music composer. He was the assassin of Anastasio Somoza García, the longtime dictator of Nicaragua....
, a Nicaraguan poet, in 1956. Luis Somoza Debayle
Luis Somoza Debayle
Luis Anastasio Somoza Debayle was the President of Nicaragua from 29 September 1956 to 1 May 1963, but was effectively dictator of the country from 1956 until his death. He was born in León.Luis was educated at LSU...
, the eldest son of the late dictator, officially took charge of Nicaragua after his father's death.
Luis Somoza, remembered by some for being moderate, was in power for only a few years before dying of a heart attack
Myocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
. Then came president, Rene Schick, whom most Nicaraguans viewed "as nothing more than a puppet
Puppet
A puppet is an inanimate object or representational figure animated or manipulated by an entertainer, who is called a puppeteer. It is used in puppetry, a play or a presentation that is a very ancient form of theatre....
of the Somozas". Somoza's brother, Anastasio Somoza Debayle
Anastasio Somoza Debayle
Anastasio Somoza Debayle was a Nicaraguan leader and officially the 73rd and 76th President of Nicaragua from 1 May 1967 to 1 May 1972 and from 1 December 1974 to 17 July 1979. As head of the National Guard, he was de facto ruler of the country from 1967 to 1979...
, who succeeded his father in charge of the National Guard, held control of the country, and officially took the presidency after Schick. In 1961, a young student, Carlos Fonseca
Carlos Fonseca
For the Brazilian boxer with the same name see Carlos Fonseca .Carlos Fonseca Amador was a Nicaraguan teacher and librarian who founded the Sandinista National Liberation Front...
, turned back to the historical figure of Sandino, and founded the Sandinista National Liberation Front
Sandinista National Liberation Front
The Sandinista National Liberation Front is a socialist political party in Nicaragua. Its members are called Sandinistas in both English and Spanish...
(FSLN). The FSLN was a tiny party throughout most of the 1960s, but Somoza's hatred of it, and his repressive treatment of anyone suspected as a Sandinista sympathizer, gave many ordinary Nicaraguans the idea that the Sandinistas were much stronger than was the case.
Some Nicaraguan historians point to the 1972 earthquake
1972 Nicaragua earthquake
The 1972 Nicaragua earthquake was an earthquake that occurred at 12:29 a.m. local time on Saturday, December 23, 1972 near Managua, the capital of Nicaragua. It had a magnitude of 6.2 and occurred at a depth of about 5 kilometers beneath the centre of the city. Within an hour after the main...
that devastated Managua
Managua
Managua is the capital city of Nicaragua as well as the department and municipality by the same name. It is the largest city in Nicaragua in terms of population and geographic size. Located on the southwestern shore of Lake Xolotlán or Lake Managua, the city was declared the national capital in...
as the final 'nail in the coffin' for Somoza. Some 90% of the city was destroyed. Somoza's brazen corruption, mishandling of relief (which prompted Pittsburgh Pirates
Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pittsburgh Pirates are a Major League Baseball club based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They play in the Central Division of the National League, and are five-time World Series Champions...
star Roberto Clemente
Roberto Clemente
Roberto Clemente Walker was a Puerto Rican Major League Baseball right fielder. He was born in Carolina, Puerto Rico, the youngest of seven children. Clemente played his entire 18-year baseball career with the Pittsburgh Pirates . He was awarded the National League's Most Valuable Player Award in...
to fly to Managua on December 31, 1972 to try to help - a flight that ended in his death) and refusal to rebuild Managua, flooded the ranks of the Sandinistas with young disaffected Nicaraguans who no longer had anything to lose.
Somoza acquired monopolies in industries that were key to rebuilding the nation, not allowing other members of the upper class to share the profits that would result from the reborn economic activity. This weakened Somoza further since even the economic elite were reluctant to support him. In 1976 a synthetic brand of cotton
Cotton
Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective capsule, around the seeds of cotton plants of the genus Gossypium. The fiber is almost pure cellulose. The botanical purpose of cotton fiber is to aid in seed dispersal....
, one of Nicaragua's economic pillars of the epoch, was developed. This caused the price of cotton to decrease, placing the economy
Economy
An economy consists of the economic system of a country or other area; the labor, capital and land resources; and the manufacturing, trade, distribution, and consumption of goods and services of that area...
in great trouble.
These economic problems propelled the Sandinistas forward in their struggle against Somoza by leading many middle and upper class Nicaraguans to see the Sandinistas as the only hope for ridding the country of the brutal Somoza regime. The January 1978 assassination of Pedro Joaquin Chamorro, the editor of an important newspaper in Nicaragua and an ardent opponent of Somoza, is believed to have been the spark that that led to extreme general disappointment against Somoza. The intellectual planners and perpetrators of the murder were at the highest echelons of the Somoza regime and included the dictator's son, “El Chiguin”, Somoza’s President of Housing, Cornelio Hueck, Somoza’s Attorney General, and Pedro Ramos, a close Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
n ally who commercialized in illegal blood plasma.
The Sandinistas, supported by much of the populace, elements of the Catholic Church, and regional and international governments took power in July 1979. Somoza abandoned the country and eventually ended up in Paraguay
Paraguay
Paraguay , officially the Republic of Paraguay , is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to the east and northeast, and Bolivia to the northwest. Paraguay lies on both banks of the Paraguay River, which runs through the center of the...
, where he was assassinated in September 1980, allegedly by members of the 'Argentinian Revolutionary Workers' Party.
The key large scale programs of the Sandinistas included a massive National Literacy Crusade (March-August, 1980), social program], which received international recognition for their gains in literacy
Literacy
Literacy has traditionally been described as the ability to read for knowledge, write coherently and think critically about printed material.Literacy represents the lifelong, intellectual process of gaining meaning from print...
, health care
Health care
Health care is the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in humans. Health care is delivered by practitioners in medicine, chiropractic, dentistry, nursing, pharmacy, allied health, and other care providers...
, education
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
, childcare
Childcare
Child care means caring for and supervising child/children usually from 0–13 years of age. In the United States child care is increasingly referred to as early childhood education due to the understanding of the impact of early experiences of the developing child...
, union
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
s, and land reform
Land reform
[Image:Jakarta farmers protest23.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Farmers protesting for Land Reform in Indonesia]Land reform involves the changing of laws, regulations or customs regarding land ownership. Land reform may consist of a government-initiated or government-backed property redistribution,...
.
United States President Jimmy Carter
Jimmy Carter
James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...
, who had cut off aid to Somoza's Nicaragua the previous year, initially chose to give aid to the new government, but the amount of aid lessened towards the end of his presidency and was completely cut off by President Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
due to evidence of Sandinista support to FMLN rebels in El Salvador
El Salvador
El Salvador or simply Salvador is the smallest and the most densely populated country in Central America. The country's capital city and largest city is San Salvador; Santa Ana and San Miguel are also important cultural and commercial centers in the country and in all of Central America...
. Prior to U.S. aid withdrawal, Bayardo Arce, an FSLN politician, had stated that "Nicaragua is the only country building its socialism with the dollars of imperialism." The Reagan administration retorted imposing economic sanctions and a trade embargo against Nicaragua.
After a brief period of these sanctions, Nicaragua was faced with a collapsing economy (see: Economy of Nicaragua
Economy of Nicaragua
Nicaragua's economy is focused primarily on the agricultural sector. However, the country is the least developed country in Central America and the second poorest in the Americas by nominal GDP. GDP fell by almost 3% in 2009, due to decreased export demand in the US and Central American markets,...
). The U.S. trained and illegally financed the Contras, which were a counter-revolutionary group, in neighboring Honduras
Honduras
Honduras is a republic in Central America. It was previously known as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras, which became the modern-day state of Belize...
to impose an American-friendly government and militarily oppose the current government and the Nicaraguan army. The Soviet Union and Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
were also heavily funding the Nicaraguan army. On June 27, 1986, the International Court of Justice in the “Case Concerning the Military and Paramilitary Activities In and Against Nicaragua (NICARAGUA v. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA)” acknowledged the nature of the conflict in Nicaragua as one of aggression directed by a foreign power against Nicaragua. In a twelve to three vote, the Court’s summary judgment against the United States stated that by:
...training, arming, equipping, financing and supplying the contra forces or otherwise encouraging, supporting and aiding military and paramilitary activities in and against Nicaragua, the United StatesUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
has acted, against the Republic of Nicaragua, in breach of its obligation under customary international law not to intervene in the affairs of another State.
The US support for the Contras sparked widespread criticism from many quarters around the globe including within Nicaragua and the U.S., Democrats in Congress included. When Congress moved to cut off aid to the Contras, Reagan aide Col. Oliver North
Oliver North
Oliver Laurence North is a retired U.S. Marine Corps officer, political commentator, host of War Stories with Oliver North on Fox News Channel, a military historian, and a New York Times best-selling author....
concocted a clandestine and ingenious plan to continue funding the Contras terrorists see: Iran-Contra Affair
Iran-Contra Affair
The Iran–Contra affair , also referred to as Irangate, Contragate or Iran-Contra-Gate, was a political scandal in the United States that came to light in November 1986. During the Reagan administration, senior Reagan administration officials and President Reagan secretly facilitated the sale of...
.
Daniel Ortega
Daniel Ortega
José Daniel Ortega Saavedra is a Nicaraguan politician and revolutionary, currently serving as the 83rd President of Nicaragua, a position that he has held since 2007. He previously served as the 79th President, between 1985 and 1990, and for much of his life, has been a leader in the Sandinista...
was overwhelmingly elected President in 1984. The November 1984 elections
Nicaraguan general election, 1984
A general election was held in Nicaragua on 4 November 1984, to elect a president and parliament. Approximately 1.2 million Nicaraguans voted, representing a 75% turnout, with 94% of eligible voters registered. The elections were generally held to be free and fair...
were certified "fair" by some Western NGOs allowed into Nicaragua. Three right-wing opposition parties (Coordinadora Democrática Nicaragüense
Coordinadora Democrática Nicaragüense
The Coordinadora Democrática Nicaragüense was a coalition of three right-wing Nicaraguan parties which boycotted the Nicaraguan general election, 1984. The parties were the Social Christians, the Social Democrats, and the Constitutional Liberal Party....
) boycotted the election
Election boycott
An election boycott is the boycotting of an election by a group of voters, each of whom abstains from voting.Boycotting may be used as a form of political protest where voters feel that electoral fraud is likely, or that the electoral system is biased against its candidates, or that the polity...
, claiming that the Sandinistas were manipulating the media and that the elections might not be fair. The years of war and Nicaragua's economic situation had taken an unparalleled toll on Nicaragua. The US Government offered a political amnesty program that gave visas to any Nicaraguan without question. Nicaraguans (particularly those who could afford passage or had familial connections within the US) left the country in droves. This was the largest emigration ever seen in the history of Nicaragua.
"In 1984, controversy over U.S. assistance to the opponents of the Nicaraguan government (the anti-Sandinista guerrillas known as the “contras”) led to a prohibition on such assistance in a continuing appropriations bill." [Congressional Research Service, Congressional Use of Funding Cutoffs Since 1970 Involving U.S. Military Forces and Overseas Deployments, January 10, 2001, pg. 6.] http://www.fas.org/man/crs/RS20775.pdf
Nicaragua won a historic case against the U.S. at the International Court of Justice
International Court of Justice
The International Court of Justice is the primary judicial organ of the United Nations. It is based in the Peace Palace in The Hague, Netherlands...
in 1986 (see Nicaragua v. United States), and the U.S. was ordered to pay Nicaragua some $12 billion in reparations for violating Nicaraguan sovereignty by engaging in attacks against it. The United States withdrew its acceptance of the Court and argued it had no authority in matters of sovereign state relations. In addition, the U.S. noted that Cuba and the Soviet Union also unfairly committed exactly the same alleged violation against Nicaraguan sovereignty by providing training and ammunition to Sandinistas while Somoza was in power. The U.S. government, standing on this arbitrary principle, refused to pay restitutions, even when a United Nations General Assembly resolution on the matter had been passed.