Hope, harsh realities and Nicaragua today.Nicaragua- a quick look at history and recent events

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Why a revolution?Long history of repression and corruption under Somoza regimesExtreme povertyIncreasing alienation of the middle classes from the ruling regimeSuccessful organizing efforts by the Sandinistas

Latin America chile, cuba

Grenada - Operation Urgent Furywas a 1983United States-ledinvasionofGrenada, aCaribbeanisland nationwith a population of about 91,000 located 100 miles (160km) north ofVenezuela, that resulted in a U.S. victory within a matter of weeks. Triggered by the house arrest and murder of the leader of the coup which had brought a revolutionary government to power for the preceding four years, the invasion resulted in a restoration of the pre-revolutionary regime.Grenada gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1974. The leftistNew Jewel Movement, which was seen favorably by much of the Grenadan population, seized power in a coup in 1979, suspending the constitution. After a 1983 internal power struggle ended with thedepositionand murder of revolutionary prime ministerMaurice Bishop, the invasion began early on 25 October 1983, just two days after thebombing of the U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut(early 23 October Beirut time).

SirEric Gairyhad ledGrenadato independence from the United Kingdom in 1974. His term in office coincided with civil strife in Grenada. The political environment was highly charged and although Gairyhead of theGrenada United Labour Partyclaimed victory in the general election of 1976, the opposition did not accept the result as legitimate. The civil strife took the form of street violence between Gairy'sprivate army, theMongoose Gang, and gangs organized by theNew Jewel Movement. In the late 1970s the NJM began planning to overthrow the government. Party members began to receive military training outside of Grenada. On 13 March 1979, while Gairy was out of the country, the NJMled byMaurice Bishoplaunched an armed revolution and overthrew the government, establishing thePeople's Revolutionary Government.

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A long burning fuse

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William Walker in Nicaragua 1854-1857

http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=FB0E12F73C581B7493C2AA1789D95F438584F9

William Walker (May 8, 1824 September 12, 1860) was an American lawyer, journalist and adventurer, who organized several private military expeditions into Latin America, with the intention of establishing English-speaking colonies under his personal control, an enterprise then known as "filibustering." Walker became president of the Republic of Nicaragua in 1856 and ruled until 1857, when he was defeated by a coalition of Central American armies, principally Costa Rica's army. He was executed by the government of Honduras in 1860.

Walker took up residence in Granada and set himself up as President of Nicaragua, after conducting a fraudulent election. He was inaugurated on July 12, 1856, and soon launched an Americanization program, reinstating slavery, declaring English an official language and reorganizing currency and fiscal policy to encourage immigration from the United States. Realizing that his position was becoming precarious, he sought support from the Southerners in the U.S. by recasting his campaign as a fight to spread the institution of black slavery, which many American Southern businessmen saw as the basis of their agrarian economy. With this in mind, Walker revoked Nicaragua's emancipation edict of 1824. This move did increase Walker's popularity in the South and attracted the attention of Pierre Soul, an influential New Orleans politician, who campaigned to raise support for Walker's war. Nevertheless, Walker's army, weakened by an epidemic of cholera and massive defections, was no match for the Central American coalition. On December 14, 1856 as Granada was surrounded by 4,000 Honduran, Salvadoran and Guatemalan troops, Charles Frederick Henningsen, one of Walker's generals, ordered his men to set the city ablaze before escaping and fighting their way to Lake Nicaragua. An inscription on a lance reading Aqu fue Granada ("Here was Granada") was left behind at the smoking ruin of the ancient capital city.[13] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Walker_%28filibuster%294

1927-1934 Sandino V. U.S. Marines

U.S. Marines in Nicaragua 1927Sandino and staff

Sandino- http://www.latinamericanstudies.org/sandino.htmMarines- http://www.latinamericanstudies.org/marines-nicaragua-1.htm

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Assassination and ascension

February 1934 Sandino negotiates settlement with Nicaragua President Sacasa

February 21, 1934 Sandino assassinated by National Guard under direct supervision of General Anastasio Somoza Garcia

1937 Somoza assumes presidency of Nicaragua

On February 21, 1934, Sandino was ambushed by the National Guard, together with his father, brother Socrates, two of his favorite generals, Estranda and Umanzor; and the poet Sofonas Salvatierra (who was Sacasa's Minister of Agriculture), while leaving a new round of talks with Sacasa.[25] Leaving Sacasa's Presidential Palace, the six men were stopped in their car at the main gate by local National Guardsmen and ordered to leave their car.[25] The Guardsmen brushed aside Sandino's father and Salvatierra. They took Sandino, his brother Socrates, and his two generals to a crossroads section in La Reynaga and executed them.[25] Sandino's remains were buried in the Larreynaga neighborhood of Managua by a detachment of National Guard troops under the command of Maj. Rigoberto Duarte, one of Gen. Somoza Garcia's confidantes. (He was the father of Roberto Duarte Solis, Minister of Social Communication during President Arnoldo Aleman's tenure.)The following day the National Guard attacked Sandino's army in force and, over a month, destroyed it.[3] Two years later, General Somoza Garca forced Sacasa to resign and declared himself President of Nicaragua. He established a dictatorship and dynasty that dominated Nicaragua for the next four decades.The full details of Sandino's assassination and what became of his remains are among Nicaragua's most enduring mysteries.[1] After he was executed, witnesses later claimed to have seen the Guardsmen prod Sandino and the other three captives with him to the ground and fire a number of shots into their bodies before burying them.[25] Sandino's followers are said to have located his body and moved it, reburying him.[25] His body was never found again. According to Sandinista lore, Gen. Somoza's assassins decapitated and dismembered Sandino before delivering his head to the U.S. government as a token of loyalty.[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augusto_C%C3%A9sar_Sandino

During peace talks, Somoza ordered the assassination of General Sandino on February 21, 1934 in violation of a safe-conduct agreement. Sandino's assassination was followed by the murder of former Sandino supporters by the National Guard. In June 1936, Somoza forced Sacasa to resign.

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1936-1979 The Somoza regime

Bloodbanks, casinos, corruption, etc7

Sandinistas and sandinismo

Through the media and the works of FSLN leaders such as Carlos Fonseca, the life and times of Augusto Csar Sandino became the unique symbol of this revolutionary force in Nicaragua. The ideology of Sandinismo gained momentum in 1974, when a Sandinista initiated hostage situation resulted in the Somoza government adhering to FSLN demands and publicly printing and airing work on Sandino in well known newspapers and media outlets.During the long struggle against Somoza, the FSLN leaders' internal disagreements over strategy and tactics were reflected in three main factions:The guerra popular prolongada (GPP, "prolonged popular war") faction was rural-based and sought long-term "silent accumulation of forces" within the country's large peasant population, which it saw as the main social base for the revolution.The tendencia proletaria (TP, "proletarian tendency"), led by Jaime Wheelock, reflected an orthodox Marxist approach that sought to organize urban workers.The tercerista/insurrecctionista (TI, "third way/insurrectionist") faction, led by Humberto and Daniel Ortega, was ideologically eclectic, favoring a more rapid insurrectional strategy in alliance with diverse sectors of the country, including business owners, churches, students, the middle class, unemployed youth and the inhabitants of shantytowns. The terceristas also helped attract popular and international support by organizing a group of prominent Nicaraguan professionals, business leaders, and clergymen (known as "the Twelve"), who called for Somoza's removal and sought to organize a provisional government from Costa Rica.Nevertheless, while ideologies varied between FSLN leaders, all leaders essentially agreed that Sandino provided a path for the Nicaragua masses to take charge, and the FSLN would act as the legitimate vanguard. The extreme end of the ideology links Sandino to Roman Catholicism and portrays him as descending from the mountains in Nicaragua knowing he would be betrayed and killed. Generally however, most Sandinistas associated Sandino on a more practical level, as a heroic and honest person who tried to combat the evil forces of imperialist national and international governments that existed in Nicaragua's history.

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2 triggers 1972, 1978

Earthquake 12/23/1972 Two-thirds of Managua's 1 000 000 residents were displaced and faced food shortage and disease and dry-season winds worsened the problem with fires created by the disaster.[3] Because of the damaging effects of the earthquake many of the emergency services in the city were operating at a seriously lower level than normal. The earthquake destroyed all the fire-fighting equipment available and fires were prevalent in some areas for several days. All four main hospitals which before the disaster had 1650 beds were unserviceable.

It was later revealed that Somoza and his cronies had indeed plundered much of the foreign aid in order to enrich themselves at the expense of the people and of those businessmen who didn't support Somoza. Opposition to the regime, which had begun to surface before the earthquake, increased quickly among the lower classes and even among members of the upper and middle classes fed up with Somoza's corruption. This grew into a revolt that became the Nicaraguan Revolution, in which Somoza was overthrown in 1979. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1972_Nicaragua_earthquake

Chamorro Assassinated 1/10/1978 Censoring Chamorro and La Prensa became the norm and included a daily afternoon approval process of the next days paper with a front and last page (wrap) being checked on the day of publication. Censorship was performed by Officers from the National Guard.As if predicting Somozas plan for his demise, Chamorro wrote a letter to him in 1975 in which he said; I am waiting, with a clear conscience, and a soul at peace, for the blow you are to deliver.It took three more years, but on January the 10th 1978, Chamorro was killed by unknown gunmen who opened fire with machine guns when he was in his car. Somoza blamed Pedro Ramos, a Cuban-American businessman who had been the subject of a La Prensa story. However, in the court of public opinion, the verdict was that Somoza had ordered him killed.The murder of this unyielding character, Pedro Joaqun Chamorro Cardenal, fanned the coals of a smoldering anti government movement and ignited the people, resulting in 30,000 people rioting in the streets of Managua, a general strike being called and general disorder in a number of areas of the country. La Prensa was now being run by Chamorros widow, Violeta Barrios de Chamorro. She also went on to be part of the FSLN-based junta from 1979 to 1980 and became President of Nicaragua from 1990-1996. http://www.nicaliving.com/node/20870

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July 19, 1979 Sandinistas Victorious

Many other events and factors leading to triumph10

Nicaragua July 20, 1979$1.6 billion dollar debtRuined economic infrastructure30,000 50,000 war deathsLow to no access to healthcare in rural regionsHigh illiteracy rate (50.3% overall)

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Sandinista responseLand reformLiteracy and health campaignsPrice fixing of commoditiesEquality for women (in theory)Right to unionize

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1980 Literacy Crusade

The goals of the literacy campaign were of a social-political, strategic and educational nature:(a) to eradicate illiteracy; (b) to encourage an integration and understanding betweenNicaraguans of different classes and backgrounds; (c) to increase political awareness; (d) tonurture attitudes and skills related to creativity, production, co-operation, discipline andanalytical thinking; (e) to support national cohesion and consensus; (f) and to strengthen thechannels for economic and political participation (Cardenal, F./ Miller, V., 1982:205).

In prerevolutionaryNicaragua a comprehensive conception of adult literacy and educationpractically did not exist. A complete neglect of this field was typical for the Somozadictatorshipwhich governed during more than four decades (Tnnermann, C., 1980:30). ForSomocism, literacy for the majority of the population was unnecessary, inappropriate andimpossible (Armas, L., 1981:86). Somocism was not interested in promoting massiveliteracy for political reasons. Literacy would have empowered people for democraticparticipation. Economical reasons did not play a major role, thus the exploitation model of theSomoza dynasty was based on uneducated agricultural workers.

Hanemann, Ulrike. "Nicaraguas literacy campaign". UNESCO.

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Conflicts and contras

Contras, Reagan, iran contra Ollie north cocaine, us mining harbours14

A lot of history between then and now

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The Atlantic coastHistory, Revolutionary Misunderstandings and Current Events

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Major Indigenous Peoples of nicaragua

According to the CIAs World Factbook of 2007, 5% of Nicaraguas population identified as indigenous. A majority of indigenous communities live in the autonomous regions of the Atlantic coast, the RAAN (Regin Autnoma del Atlntico Norte) and the RAAS (Regin Autnoma del Atlntico Sur).

The Miskitos generally live in 3 major areas: the Coco River region, the plains and coasts of the RAAN, and the Pearl Lagoon basin near the mouth of the Ro Grande of Matagalpa in the RAAS. A significant portion of Miskitos have also migrated and now inhabit Corn Island and Bluefields. Miskitu is the language spoken by these people, although it is threatened by English and Spanish, popular among younger generations. As of a government census in 2005, the population of Miskitos in Nicaragua was about 300,000.

According to a 2011 survey done by the Mayagna government, there are approximately 8,000 Mayagna individuals, mostly concentrated in the RAAN with some in Jinotega. There are two Mayagna communities in Siuna whose combined population is about 800. Many communities are in or near the Bosaws Biosphere Reserve and thus have problems with illegal timber extraction and agricultural expansion.

There are 9 Rama communities (Rama Cay, Sumu Kaat, Tiktik Kaany, Wiring Cay, Monkey Point, Bangkukuk, Corn River, Indian River and Greytown), all located in the RAAS. A major problem facing this group of people is the loss of the Rama language, which is only currently spoken by a few elders in the community.

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Atlantic coast historyIgnored by Spanish who settled/invaded Pacific coastFirst (English) settlers were pirates (17th Century)Escaped slaves from BWIBritish supplied arms to Miskito against SpanishExpansion of Miskito territory1845 British colonial rule established

http://www.refworld.org/docid/4954ce1bc.html

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1894 Atlantic coast annexed by ZelayaMid-19th century to Sandinista RevolutionU.S. based natural resource extractionLow wage employment on plantations and in mines1920s & 30s Impact of Sandino and guerilla movement1950s -60s extraction companies depart

in 1894 the structure was dissolved following the annexation of the Atlantic region by President Zelaya. For almost 240 years The Miskitu had been able to maintain their autonomy and independence from Spain, the Federation of Central American States as well as from Nicaragua itself and this would prove hard to forget.From the mid-19th century until the Sandinista Revolution in 1979, the Caribbean Coast experienced considerable economic activity. US companies set up businesses for natural resource extraction that employed many indigenous people like the Miskitu and Mayanga mostly in low wage jobs on the plantations and in the mining industry.

The war led by Augusto Sandino against the US occupation of Nicaragua in the 1920s and 30s included many aggravated miners and peasants and the Miskitu played a decisive role since the war was organized in their areasBy the 1950s and 1960s the extraction companies began to depart and many predominantly indigenous wage earning people were forced to return to subsistence survival strategies. These indigenous groups were also increasingly affected by growing land pressures from incoming Pacific migrants who had been removed from the Highlands during the Somoza regime.

OriginsMoravian missionaries arrived at Bluefields on March 14, 1849 to begin the evangelistic ministry that would become the Moravian Church in Nicaragua. Expanding from Bluefields, mission stations were established all along the Atlantic Coast. Mission efforts were primarily directed toward the Miskitu people living in villages and along the rivers and lagoons. Creole populations along the coast, with roots in Jamaica, also responded to the Gospel in large numbers. In due time, missionaries reached out to the Mayangna (Sumu) and Rama peoples.As time went on, missionaries from Europe and North America served as teachers, doctors and

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The revolution and the coast

Negotiation of the autonomous zonesDifferences mestizo v indigenous and afro-CaribbeanDiluted indigenous identification in rest of Nica (at that point and due to Somoza repression, etc)

However when the 1979 Sandinista revolution finally arrived it did not stimulate widespread participation from Atlantic coast populations.Although for the first time opportunities were being created for Atlantic Coast minorities to campaign for their rights, the troubled bi-coastal history caused distrust of Sandinista plans. Events were seen as merely a change of government in the 'Spanish' part of the country and this was compounded by a lack of understanding of the region on the part of the new regime.

For example Government supported social services threatened long-established indigenous community authorities like the Moravian Church; Sandinistas offended Miskitu groups by the imposition of the Spanish language in the literacy campaign;. MISURASATA (the Miskitu, Sumu and Rama Sandinista Alliance), a Miskitu-dominated popular organization, which served as the only link between the indigenous communities and the Sandinista government promoted their own Miskitu agenda and was not trusted by the government specially since few MISURASATA leaders and activists were actually Sandinistas.

By 1981 large numbers of Miskitu were in open revolt against the government and war resulted. Some were forcibly relocated by the Sandinistas, Around 40,000 Miskitu went into exile in Honduras during the fighting and others joined the US-backed 'Contras'. The threat of large-scale Miskitu participation in the civil war forced major reanalysis by the national government which led to an initial ceasefire in 1985. This was followed by two years of discussions and the production of the 1987 Autonomy Law of the Atlantic Coast.

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Autonomy for the coast1987 Autonomy Law of the Atlantic Coast2 autonomous zones created (RAAN & RAAS)Legal framework for autonomyLaw 445-Demarcation of Communal PropertyLaw 423- General Law of Health*Law 462-Law of Conservation, Development and Sustainable Development of the Forest Sector

*recognizes the use and promotion of the traditional medicine in the Autonomous Regions

http://www.refworld.org/docid/4954ce1bc.htmlOn September 12, 1987 the National Assembly of Nicaragua approved the Statute of Autonomy for the Atlantic Coast Regions in a direct attempt to achieve peace in the region and in the country.

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Some Current IssuesOn the Atlantic Coast

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LandMost indigenous land is communally held.Settlers from the west of Nicaragua are buying land.Conflicts are ongoing

AP Photo/Esteban Felix

In this Sept. 19, 2015 photo, a Miskito girl walks among Miskito men armed with rifles, which they say they use to defend against attacking colonists, in La Esperanza community, Nicaragua. Miskitos have taken up arms to try to expel the wave of newcomers, who are attracted in part by the areas rich tropical hardwood groves. (AP Photo/Esteban Felix)

The foremost issue for indigenous Coast populations is that of land titling. Since almost all indigenous lands are communally held and since these are the very areas that are under invasion by groups from the Pacific it cuts to the heart of the ability of the indigenous groups to continue to survive in a traditional manner including safeguarding the environment. http://www.refworld.org/publisher,MRGI,COUNTRYREP,NIC,49749cd632,0.html23

The proposed canalA current source of controversy and protestNegative Environmental impactsPositive (possible) economic benefitsSecretive deal signed by Ortega and a Chinese company

The constitution was amended last December to make accommodations for the project, and it now grants HKND the right to expropriate land and natural resources as it sees fit for the success of the project and sub-projects. Those displaced by the canal would be paid for their property according to June 2013 assessments of the lands value; while they can contest the amount offered as compensation, they cannot complain about the land being expropriated from them.

Because the route would pass through such a vast area of land, one of the main concerns is the displacement of indigenous peoples who have been living in those lands since before the Spanish conquest. Danish NGO Forests of the World warns that the canal is to be built through the Rama and Kriol territory, fragmenting it into two parts. No formal discussions have taken place with indigenous peoples, and there are concerns about inclusion, participation, and receiving their faire share if the canal were to traverse their territory.24

Buen vivir / Sumak Kawsay / Laman laka

In English, buen vivir loosely translates "good living" or "well living", although neither term sits well with Eduardo Gudynas, a leading scholar on the subject. Both sit too close to western notions of wellbeing or welfare, he says: "These are not equivalents at all. With buen vivir, the subject of wellbeing is not [about the] individual, but the individual in the social context of their community and in a unique environmental situation.

Similar thinking is inspiring other social movements across South America, says Gudynas. The link to other indigenous belief systems, such as those of the Aymara peoples of Bolivia, the Quichua of Ecuador and the Mapuche of Chile and Argentina, is explicit. Yet Gudynas is at pains to point out that buen vivir owes as much to political philosophy as it does to indigenous worldviews. "It is equally influenced by western critiques [of capitalism] over the last 30 years, especially from the field of feminist thought and environmentalism," he explains. "It certainly doesn't require a return to some sort of indigenous, pre-Colombian past.

http://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/blog/buen-vivir-philosophy-south-america-eduardo-gudynas25