| |
|
|
| |
Home
>
World
> Central America
> Nicaragua
|
History and Government
History: Pre-colonial Nicaragua was occupied by two distinct ethnic groups. The central and western regions were populated by tribes related to the Aztecs and Maya, who migrated southwards from Mexico. In the opposite direction, probably from Colombia, came a different group, who occupied the Caribbean lowlands. The arrival of Spanish colonists in the early 1500s brought the demise of most of the western and central populations through imported disease and forced labour. The eastern peoples survived due to a relative lack of interest from Spain and, later on, support from the British, who sought to challenge Spanish influence in the Caribbean.
Under Spanish rule, Nicaragua was incorporated in the Captaincy-General – an administrative region, also known by the Spanish term audiencia – of Guatemala. At its peak in the mid-16th century, this stretched across the whole of central America, from southern Mexico to Panama. Throughout the colonial era, two major struggles dominated the political economy of Nicaragua and indeed the whole region. The first was between the Spanish and rival imperial powers – mainly the British, French and Dutch, who made repeated incursions into Spanish-controlled territory. The second was the internal feud over trade policy. On one side were wealthy landowners – descendants of the original Spanish colonists, backed by the moral authority of the Catholic Church – who supported and relied upon trade monopolies in the mining and agricultural commodities, which were the mainstay of the regional economy. In the opposing camp were anti-clerical ‘liberals’ who promoted a free trade system.
The trade argument was a reflection of that raging within Europe; it was ultimately the events in Europe that brought about the end of colonial rule and national independence for Nicaragua. The catalyst was the French invasion of Spain in 1794, which triggered internal upheaval in the Captaincy-General and drastically weakened Spanish power. As one of the poorer colonial possessions, Nicaragua was low on the list of Spanish priorities and little serious effort was made to hang on to it. In 1821, the Captaincy-General of Guatemala declared independence. Some efforts from Mexico were made to bring Nicaragua to heel but in 1823, the five provinces – now the modern states of Nicaragua, El Salvador, Panama, Costa Rica and Honduras – declared full independence as the United Provinces of Central America. Internal feuding led to the rapid dissolution of the United Provinces and in 1838, Nicaragua declared itself a sovereign state with a democratic system of government.
The fledgling nation was slow to stabilise and immediately became prey to what were now the most powerful foreign influences in the region – the British and the Americans. The British consolidated their control over the Caribbean seaboard, the so-called Mosquito Coast – the name derives from the term ‘miskito’ or mixed-blood, as most inhabitants of the area were descended from inter-marriage between Caribbean Indians and black former slaves. The Americans first appeared in the form of the freebooting William Walker. In 1855, one of the ‘liberal’ factions disputing power in Nicaragua invited the American mercenary to come and aid their cause. Walker took effective control of the government, by taking over the national army. However, he was no liberal and planned to remodel Nicaragua as a slave colony annexed to the US. Walker was eventually defeated after a bitter struggle. After several unsuccessful attempts to re-invade Nicaragua, Walker was captured by the British, handed over to the Nicaraguan government and executed in 1865.
From this point on, the struggle between supporters and opponents of the US – along with the propensity of Washington to intervene when it felt its interests threatened – came to dominate the political landscape of Nicaragua. In 1912, after 50-odd years of relative quiet, it was the conservatives who called upon US intervention to resolve serious domestic upheaval. This revolved around a number of issues, including the failure of Nicaragua to secure the construction of an Atlantic-Pacific canal, which was built in Panama instead, as well as the historic conflict between conservatives and liberals. The Americans maintained a constant military presence in Nicaragua for the next two decades. For the first 14 years, it was nominal, however, in 1926, worried about a possible radical election victory similar to what had occurred in Mexico, US marines arrived in force. Most Nicaraguan politicians acquiesced to American will. However, a radical group, led by Augusto César Sandino – who gave his name to the Sandinista movement – launched an effective guerrilla campaign that forced the Americans’ departure in 1933.
Sandino’s guerrillas had agreed to stop fighting when the Americans left. This they did. However, a new power had arisen during the course of the campaign, in the form of the paramilitary National Guard, led by General Anastasio Somoza Garcia. Against the wishes of the government, Sandino and his senior commanders were arrested by Somoza and executed in February 1934. Two years later, Somoza – a wily and vicious politician – was elected president and duly established a military dictatorship. Characterised by brutality, despotism and systematic corruption, this lasted for almost half a century. Somoza was assassinated in 1956, at which point his son, Luis Somoza Delbaye, took over. At the turn of the 1960s, a rebel movement called the Frente Sandinista de Liberación Nacional (FSLN) began a guerrilla campaign, which finally overthrew the Somozas after 17 years, in 1979.
The ‘Sandinistas’ established a Junta of National Reconstruction and began a programme of agrarian reform, nationalisation of industry and massive health and literacy schemes. However, in 1981, following the election of Ronald Reagan as US President, the Americans – under the banner of fighting communism – began a programme of destabilisation in Nicaragua, helping the ‘Contra’ guerrilla forces in Honduras and Costa Rica and mounting an economic boycott. The Contra war caused serious difficulties for the FSLN government. Repeated attempts to negotiate a settlement foundered upon the opposition of the USA, which was determined to bring down the Sandinistas. Finally, in 1989, a deal was agreed with Honduras – where most of the Contra bases were located – to end the insurgency. Elections in February 1990 showed how much Sandinista popularity suffered during the years of turmoil and austerity. Violeta Chamorro, widow of the publisher, Pedro Chamorro – who was killed by the Somoza regime – defeated Sandinista leader Daniel Ortega when she stood on behalf of the combined opposition UNO Alliance representing 14 of the 21 opposition parties in Nicaragua.
Once in government, much of Chamorro’s energy was consumed by holding together the fractious UNO coalition. The President herself had little to do with the day-to-day business of government, which was mostly in the hands of her son-in-law, Antonio Lacayo Oyanguren. Under Chamorro, Nicaraguan relations with the USA did not proceed as smoothly as either party would have liked. Bilateral aid was the major sticking point, with the US Congress imposing a series of obstacles to the US$100 million annual subvention. However, Nicaraguan diplomacy proved enough to avoid the suspension of aid. At home, the instability and perceived lack of action on the part of the Chamorro government led to a series of armed uprisings in the more remote parts of the country, executed by disaffected ex-soldiers from both Contras and Sandinistas, whose land claims had been ignored.
UNO has since been pushed out of ministerial office by Chamorro, who has replaced their representatives with members of the newly formed Partido Socialista Nicaragüense (PSN) and the Grupo de Centro, a faction composed of centrist UNO dissidents. While the disintegration of the anti-Sandinista UNO coalition was less than surprising, the split in the traditionally disciplined Sandinistas was unexpected. In the summer of 1995, a moderate faction led by ex-Vice-President Sergio Ramirez broke away, leaving Ortega in charge of the rump. Ortega’s fortunes have since deteriorated further, although he was once more re-elected Sandinista leader at the party’s May 1998 Congress, his future political prospects were put in serious jeopardy after he was accused of sexual molestation by his stepdaughter.
Both Ortega and the residual FSLN survived. However, both were defeated at the 1996 elections. Ortega drew on his huge popular following to register 40 per cent at the presidential poll but was overhauled by Arnoldo Aleman Lacayo leading an alliance of liberal and centrist parties. The Alianza Liberal also became the largest party in the Asamblea Nacional, following simultaneous legislative elections, albeit falling short of an absolute majority. The bitter issue of land reform continued to dominate Nicaraguan politics, with numerous disputes dating back to the Sandinista era and before. Following the passage of carefully worded legislation and the disarming of the Rearmados (rural guerrillas still pursuing some of these claims at the beginning of 1998), the issue now seems to have been settled.
Ortega made another stab at the presidency in November 2001 and was widely tipped for victory. During the 1990s, he had gradually repositioned himself politically, dropping socialist policies and revolutionary rhetoric in favour of a Blairite Christian democrat posture. The FSLN was restyled as Convergencia, the ranks of which are even open to former members of Somoza’s once-loathed National Guard. In the event, Ortega lost out once again, this time to Lacayo’s vice-president, Enrique Bolanos Geyer. Convergencia also fell just short of the winning post; the Liberals have a majority of just two in the new national assembly. The new government faces several major problems, mostly related to the economy (see Economy section). Its work also has been paralysed by a dispute over the fate of ex-president Aleman, who was arraigned for corruption during his term of office. This was finally resolved in September 2002, when Aleman’s parliamentary immunity was removed.
Government: The President, who is elected for a five-year term, wields executive power and is assisted by a Deputy and Cabinet of Ministers. Legislative power rests with the National Assembly, whose 92 members (reduced from 96 in 1990) are popularly elected by proportional representation. Under the terms of constitutional amendments adopted in July 1995, the president and legislature’s mandate was established as five years.
Copyright © 2003 Columbus Publishing Ltd.
Terms and Conditions apply.
|
|
|
|
|
