Sandinista Movement

Essay by boroniclesUniversity, Bachelor'sA, May 2006

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Nicaragua: From Somoza to the Revolution

Growing up in Nicaragua in the fifties and sixties was no easy task. With corrupt leadership, and horrid living conditions we seemed to be a doomed country. We had no land to own, no education, and no money. Something had to change, and it needed to be quick. With the ideas of our great leader in the twenties, revolutionist's, like myself, knew what we had to do.

The Somoza dynasty began in 1936. Claiming himself dictator, after militarily overthrowing the country, Anastasio Somoza Sr. had used his country in his best interest (Notes). He Supported the United States for anti-communism during the cold war. Infact, the Somoza's Mansion was so close to the U.S. Embassy and it was rumored there was an underground tunnel leading to it. The one thing that revolutionist's despised most besides the fact of him supporting the imperialist, was that he assassinated the great Cesar Sandino (Chasteen, 294-2950).

His greed for wealth and land eventually rolled over into his son's dictatorships and their view of politics for Nicaragua. First came Luis in the late fifties and early sixties, then Anastasio Jr. in the mid sixties, until the late seventies. During Anastasio's rein, there was no system of education for the youth, and illiteracy was at 90%. Compared to all of the other children in the world, I felt as if we were being left behind. Another astonishing figure was that during this time only one percent, of the two and a half million people in Nicaragua, owned all of the land. Of that one percent, the Somoza family owned 20-25 percent of the land in Nicaragua (Notes). This really affected the youth and young adults who had ambitions of becoming a success in the future. Dreams were crushed, and famine...