LONG TERM CAUSES
Nicaragua's instability and prime strategic geographic location as well as a potential site for a U.S. controlled canal connecting the Atlantic and Pacific oceans originated United States interest and occupations in 1909, 1912 and 1926. A treaty signed with the United States to utilize Nicaraguan land and overall intrusion in the affairs of Nicaragua was highly resented by the civilians of the country and rebellions and guerrilla war against American occupation ensued through 1927. Augusto Sandino was the Commander of the Army to Defend National Sovereignty, the group rebelling against the American forces and the Guardia Nacional de Nicaragua, the brutal, U.S. trained and commanded Nicaraguan army. The multiple U.S. occupations and intrusions into government in Nicaragua led to the creation of the Guardia Nacional, whose American control and brutal nature played a huge role in the revolution in 1976.
The rebel group successfully expelled the United States' forces from Nicaragua around 1934, leaving Anastasio Somoza in command of the omnipresent Guardia Nacional. Somoza masterminded the death of Augusto Sandino through the Guardia Nacional in the same year. He established general control over the government as military leader and two years later, seized presidential power. For the next 44 years the Somoza dynasty sustained almost complete political control of Nicaragua with the backing of the United States and of course, the Guardia Nacional. The Somozas ruled in obviously dictatorial manner, not even attempting to hide the flagitious nature of their govern. The voting was public and the illiterate population of Nicaragua would often simply tell an official which candidate to mark. After voting, a person would receive a pink card called 'la magnifica' to show that they had voted for a Somoza. This card would be presented to receive help from the police, avoid fines or even just to receive a paycheck. The Guardia Nacional consistently used repression techniques during the Somoza dictatorship to quell potential threats to their power. All the while the U.S. backed the repression dictatorship in the hopes of maintaining a puppet to aid in the fight against socialists. The brutal repression and indisputable corruption with which the Somoza dynasty governed the population of Nicaragua for 44 years resulted in the long term outrage of the Nicaraguan people.
Earthquake
SHORT TERM CAUSES
The FSLN (Frente Sandista de Liberacion Nacional or Sandista National Liberation Front) was founded in 1961 by Carlos Fonseca, Silvio Mayorga and Tomas Borge,as a socialist, revolutionary group with the aim to expel the Somoza dictatorship from power. Over 10 years the Sandinistas(named after Augusto Sandino) gained support among the lower class of Nicaragua. The group did not begin to gain serious ground until the Managua earthquake of 1972 which decimated the capitol city which destroyed a large portion of Nicaragua's overall infrastructure due to its majority location in Managua. Although, the outrage among the population occurred when little of the money that had been provided in aid internationally was used to rebuild the city. The blame was quickly placed on the Somoza family, who in the past were guilty of economic corruption within the government. Two years later the Sandinista guerrilla groups began extremely successful missions against the Guardia Nacional, which provoked rage against the civilian population and even further international recognition of human rights violations. This bolstered the Sandista revolutionaries and they introduced even more aggressive tactics, which were documented and well-supported by Joaquin Chamorro, the the nationally recognized hero and editor of a very vocal anti-Somoza newspaper called 'La Prensa'. In the heat of continued guerrilla attacks in 1978, Chamorro was assassinated, sparking the action of the majority of Nicaragua. Many young people moved to strike and then, emboldened, created homemade weapons and took to the streets of cities to fight the Guardia Nacional. This type of resistance continued through 1978 and into 1979, with the United States supporting the Guardia Nacional throughout, desperate to prevent the creation of a communist regime. In 1979 the FSLN began to train a mixed-gender army to combat the military-trained Guardia Nacional. Finally in July of 1979 the Guardia Nacional withdrew after a month of heavy combat and the rescindment of all aid from the United States. They surrendered after Somoza's flight from Nicaragua and under firm conditions set by the FSLN. Heightened examples of the corruption of the Somoza dictatorships were the short term causes of the escalation of support for the FSLN and therefore revolution.
Nicaragua's instability and prime strategic geographic location as well as a potential site for a U.S. controlled canal connecting the Atlantic and Pacific oceans originated United States interest and occupations in 1909, 1912 and 1926. A treaty signed with the United States to utilize Nicaraguan land and overall intrusion in the affairs of Nicaragua was highly resented by the civilians of the country and rebellions and guerrilla war against American occupation ensued through 1927. Augusto Sandino was the Commander of the Army to Defend National Sovereignty, the group rebelling against the American forces and the Guardia Nacional de Nicaragua, the brutal, U.S. trained and commanded Nicaraguan army. The multiple U.S. occupations and intrusions into government in Nicaragua led to the creation of the Guardia Nacional, whose American control and brutal nature played a huge role in the revolution in 1976.
The rebel group successfully expelled the United States' forces from Nicaragua around 1934, leaving Anastasio Somoza in command of the omnipresent Guardia Nacional. Somoza masterminded the death of Augusto Sandino through the Guardia Nacional in the same year. He established general control over the government as military leader and two years later, seized presidential power. For the next 44 years the Somoza dynasty sustained almost complete political control of Nicaragua with the backing of the United States and of course, the Guardia Nacional. The Somozas ruled in obviously dictatorial manner, not even attempting to hide the flagitious nature of their govern. The voting was public and the illiterate population of Nicaragua would often simply tell an official which candidate to mark. After voting, a person would receive a pink card called 'la magnifica' to show that they had voted for a Somoza. This card would be presented to receive help from the police, avoid fines or even just to receive a paycheck. The Guardia Nacional consistently used repression techniques during the Somoza dictatorship to quell potential threats to their power. All the while the U.S. backed the repression dictatorship in the hopes of maintaining a puppet to aid in the fight against socialists. The brutal repression and indisputable corruption with which the Somoza dynasty governed the population of Nicaragua for 44 years resulted in the long term outrage of the Nicaraguan people.
Earthquake
SHORT TERM CAUSES
The FSLN (Frente Sandista de Liberacion Nacional or Sandista National Liberation Front) was founded in 1961 by Carlos Fonseca, Silvio Mayorga and Tomas Borge,as a socialist, revolutionary group with the aim to expel the Somoza dictatorship from power. Over 10 years the Sandinistas(named after Augusto Sandino) gained support among the lower class of Nicaragua. The group did not begin to gain serious ground until the Managua earthquake of 1972 which decimated the capitol city which destroyed a large portion of Nicaragua's overall infrastructure due to its majority location in Managua. Although, the outrage among the population occurred when little of the money that had been provided in aid internationally was used to rebuild the city. The blame was quickly placed on the Somoza family, who in the past were guilty of economic corruption within the government. Two years later the Sandinista guerrilla groups began extremely successful missions against the Guardia Nacional, which provoked rage against the civilian population and even further international recognition of human rights violations. This bolstered the Sandista revolutionaries and they introduced even more aggressive tactics, which were documented and well-supported by Joaquin Chamorro, the the nationally recognized hero and editor of a very vocal anti-Somoza newspaper called 'La Prensa'. In the heat of continued guerrilla attacks in 1978, Chamorro was assassinated, sparking the action of the majority of Nicaragua. Many young people moved to strike and then, emboldened, created homemade weapons and took to the streets of cities to fight the Guardia Nacional. This type of resistance continued through 1978 and into 1979, with the United States supporting the Guardia Nacional throughout, desperate to prevent the creation of a communist regime. In 1979 the FSLN began to train a mixed-gender army to combat the military-trained Guardia Nacional. Finally in July of 1979 the Guardia Nacional withdrew after a month of heavy combat and the rescindment of all aid from the United States. They surrendered after Somoza's flight from Nicaragua and under firm conditions set by the FSLN. Heightened examples of the corruption of the Somoza dictatorships were the short term causes of the escalation of support for the FSLN and therefore revolution.