With Nicaragua making news again it seems like history repeating itself; in 1979 it would seem the country was repairing itself after many years of living under a dictatorship presided over by Anastasio Somoza. A junta group known as the Sandinista took over, led by Daniel Ortega as President - but they invoked the ire of George Bush Snr. who viewed the new administration as a threat and promoted and supported a rebel group known as the Contras. In fact, the US had also supported Somoza in the 70s, a leader committed to perpetuating the then-status quo of keeping Nicaragua uneducated and undeveloped.
The US also "staged" a war between Nicaragua and Honduras in order to broker a continuation of aid to the Contra forces and demonize the Sandinista.
In 1990 the first "free" elections took place in which Ortega was defeated and replaced by the Uno party's Violeta Chamorro, who had been supported by US funds via a "National Endowment for Democracy" which was usually prohibited for direct personal finance of a political candidate - however Bush Snr. managed to lobby Congress to waive that rule. Former US President Jimmy Carter was brought in as an "independent observer" to attest to the legitimacy of the election. However many voters had voted against their wishes in fear of Contra reprisals and continuing US sanctions.
Here are some selected clips from ITN and BBC News in both 1988 and 1990 along with a 1988 edition of The South Bank Show looking at the fact that almost everyone involved in Nicaraguan politics was a writer or involved in the arts. If anything, the struggle towards true democracy was also a fight for literacy, creative force and imagination. The tools people need to cultivate true hope and amibition; qualities perhaps that some quarters preferred to wither on the vine.
21 авг 2024
