The Sandinista National Liberation Front, or FSLN, was founded in 1961 by Carlos Fonseca, Silvio Mayorga, and Tomás Borge, three socialists inspired by the success of the Cuban Revolution. Jimmy Carter had been elected in the U.S. with a campaign focused on the U.S. promoting human rights internationally. After the devastating 1972 Managua earthquake, which killed 10,000 people, the Somozas pocketed much of the international aid sent to Nicaragua, provoking widespread dissent among economic elites. Defending itself against the CIA-backed Contra aggression siphoned off needed resources that would have otherwise been spent on social programs. The Iranian military, with the support and financial assistance of the United States government, overthrows the government of Premier Mohammed Mosaddeq and reinstates the Shah of Iran. Immediately after the revolution, in fact, Cuba sent advisors to Nicaragua to consult with the new government about the formation of its policies. The U.S. waged a covert war on the Sandinistas throughout the 1980s, culminating in the Iran-Contra affair. Since 1937, Nicaragua had been under the rule of a dictator, Anastasio Somoza García, who came up through the U.S-trained National Guard and overthrew a democratically elected president, Juan Sacasa. In June, the Sandinistas named members of a post-Somoza government, including Ortega and two other FSLN members, as well as other opposition leaders. For much of the 20th century, Central America was plagued by revolution and war. Thus, the Nicaraguan Revolution's legacy wasn't as sweeping as that of the Cuban Revolution. In 1983, for example, after the Contras scored some successes against the FSLN, Cuban general Arnoldo Ochoa traveled to Nicaragua to advice the Sandinistas on their military campaign, and the number of Cuban advisers and military units in Nicaragua increased dramatically. Sandinistas were heavily dependent on Soviet aid and oil; as Kagan notes, “The vital importance of close relations with the Soviet Union had been one of the few constants in Sandinista theory and policy since their earliest pre-revolutionary days.” After Germany broke its pact with the Soviets and invaded the USSR in June 1941, the United Kingdom and the Soviet Union jointly occupied neutral Iran as a preventive measure, starting on August 25, 1941, and justified their invasion by the need to use Iran as a gateway for delivery of Lend-Lease supplies to the Soviet Union from British India. In 1978, Ortega's FSLN faction went about attempting to unify the Sandinistas, apparently with guidance from Fidel Castro. Kagan argues that the FSLN supported the Salvadoran rebels “for reasons of ideology and affinity.”  He also argues that the Sandinistas supported the rebels because they thought that, by aiding the rebels, they would convince the Soviet Union to fully support Nicaragua against U.S. intervention in the region and ensure that Nicaragua remained economically viable. Iran and the United States sever diplomatic ties over the hostage crisis, and the U.S. Embassy becomes a training ground for the Revolutionary Guards Corps. "By the middle of the decade, Somoza stood out as one of the worst human rights violators in the Western Hemisphere," according to Walker and Wade. 6/8/1936-Managua, Nicaragua- General Anastasio Somoza, Commander of the National Guard and leader of the Nicaraguan revolt that forced the resignation of President Juan B. Sacasa, is shown entering Leon Fort at the conclusion of hostilities. The scandal related to U.S. policy toward two countries that had undergone revolutionary regime change in 1979, Iran and Nicaragua. Campaign for Elimination of Illiteracy in San Rafael, where a 12-year-old girl teaches other children and teenagers how to read and write outside a farmer's house. In 1961, the Sandinista National Liberation Front (Frente Sandinista de Liberación Nacional, or Sandinistas) was founded by Silvio Mayorga, Tomás Borge, and Carlos Fonseca. “Democracy” He argues that the Sandinistas' ideology was rooted in Marxism and in a mistaken reading of Sandino as a pseudo-Marxist. On July 19, 1979, the Sandinistas seized power in Nicaragua. (Sandino himself was a populist who sought Nicaraguan independence from U.S. imperialism. ThoughtCo, Aug. 28, 2020, thoughtco.com/nicaraguan-revolution-4777782. Bodenheimer, Rebecca. The Sandinistas also supported the spread of socialism abroad, most notably in nearby El Salvador. By summer 1979, the United States decided that Somoza’s rule was no longer tenable in Nicaragua and, along with other Latin American leaders, sought to moderate the new Nicaraguan government that would inevitably come to power. What Is Kleptocracy? The Nicaraguan Revolution was a decades-long process meant to liberate the small Central American country from both U.S. imperialism and the repressive Somoza dictatorship. It began in the early 1960s with the founding of the Sandinista National Liberation front (FSLN), but didn't truly ramp up until the mid-1970s. However, the Sandinistas were heavily influenced by Marixst-Leninist teachings, as the party leaders themselves sometimes admitted, but they interpreted these ideas in the context of their view of Nicaragua's history. Inspired by Fidel Castro's and Che Guevarra's Cuban Revolution, the group sought to be “a political-military organization whose objective is the seizure of political power through the destruction of the bureaucratic and military apparatus of [Somoza's] dictatorship.”  During the revolution in Nicaragua, the FSLN received arms from Panama, Cuba, and Venezuela, and logistical support from Costa Rica, although Cuba's Fidel Castro was the only country that wanted to see a socialist revolution in Nicaragua (the other countries supported the FSLN as a viable opponent to Somoza and to prevent the radicalization of the revolution). Somoza ruled for the next 19 years, primarily by controlling the National Guard and appeasing the U.S. Between 1976 and 1978, there was virtually no communication between the factions. The Iran hostage crisis … Rebecca Bodenheimer, Ph.D. is the author of "Geographies of Cubanidad: Place, Race, and Musical Performance in Contemporary Cuba." While he sought relief for the poor, he did not advocate for a Marxist class struggle.). Bodenheimer, Rebecca. Whether this was truly a fair election, though, is a matter of debate; Vanden and Prevost argue that it was, whereas Kagan argues that Sandinistas were not willing to make any real changes regardless of the elections. The National Guard collapsed and many fled into exile to Guatemala, Honduras, and Costa Rica. Nicaraguan Revolution. Relations between Iran, US have been tense since 1979 hostage crisis News Service 10:14 February 11, 2021 AA Celebrations in Iran within 42nd anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution Despite their staunch socialist leanings, the Sandinistas united with other groups in opposition to Somoza in order to “mask” the true nature of their revolution so as to not evoke the ire of the United States. The current crisis in Nicaragua is the latest in a long series of civil conflicts that have deeply divided the Central American country and drawn in the United States and other nations. Iran remained a solid Cold War ally of the United States until a revolution ended the Shahs rule in 1979. Businessmen, resentful of the emergency taxes leveled on them, provided financial support to the Sandinistas. After he succeeded in ousting American troops in 1933, he was assassinated in 1934 on the orders of the first Anastasio Somoza, while he was in charge of the National Guard. The Nicaraguan Congress quickly elected a Somoza ally, Francisco Urcuyo, but when he announced his intention to stay in office until the end of Somoza's term (1981) and to obstruct cease-fire operations, he was forced out the next day. The Nicaraguan Revolution was ultimately responsible for the death of 2% of the Nicaraguan population, 50,000 people. In August, 25 Sandinistas disguised as National Guardsmen assaulted the National Palace and took the entire Nicaraguan Congress hostage. The Iranian revolution sparked the world’s second oil shock in five years. However, he had already made succession plans and his son Luis assumed power immediately. After they had rid Nicaragua of those who were resistant to change, the FSLN would lead Nicaragua toward socialism, at least in a broad sense; as Gilbert notes, the Sandinistas did not all agree on what socialism actually meant. Definition and Examples, Biography of Anastasio Somoza García, President of Nicaragua, What Is a Military Dictatorship? Nonetheless, events in Nicaragua had spiraled out of Carter's control. Specifically, they thought of themselves as a Leninist vanguard party, a group of “professional revolutionaries” that would unite the Nicaraguan workers and peasants to destroy the “present system of capitalist exploitation and oppression” run by the Somoza dynasty and supported by the United States. Washington is callously using the Iranian revolution as a ploy to contrive another oil crisis and foment anticommunist xenophobia. Nicaragua has lost 217,930 formal jobs and has been dragging two consecutive years of economic contraction since 2018, the year in which the civic rebellion against the Daniel Ortega regime began, according to a report released this Saturday by the Central Bank of Nicaragua (BCN ).Until last August, Nicaragua closed with 695,867 workers affiliated to the Nicaraguan Social Security Institute (INSS), … The Nicaraguan Revolution . The Soviet Union El Salvador Definition, Tactics, and Examples, What Is an Embargo? Their protests have exposed U.S. hypocrisy on “human rights.” Somoza allowed the U.S. to establish a military base in Nicaragua during World War II and provided the CIA a training area in which to plan the coup that overthrew the democratically-elected Guatemalan president, Jacobo Árbenz. Somoza agreed to the mediation, but rejected the proposal to institute free elections. Carter saw the need to quell the violence in Nicaragua and the Organization of American States agreed to a U.S. proposal for political mediation. The FSLN, moreover, instituted a National Literacy Crusade, which, according to Kagan, served both to increase literacy and to ideologically indoctrinate students. "The Nicaraguan Revolution: History and Impact." Iranian Revolution - Iranian Revolution - Aftermath: On April 1, following overwhelming support in a national referendum, Khomeini declared Iran an Islamic republic. The Iran hostage crisis was a diplomatic standoff between the United States and Iran.Fifty-two American diplomats and citizens were held hostage after a group of militarized Iranian college students belonging to the Muslim Student Followers of the Imam's Line, who supported the Iranian Revolution, took over the U.S. Embassy in Tehran and seized hostages. Iranian Revolution, popular uprising in 1978–79 that resulted in the fall of the Pahlavi dynasty and the establishment of an Islamic republic. Sandinista economic policies also reflected their socialist ideology. … Post-revolution politics and ideology Chamorro was assassinated in January 1978, provoking an outcry and kicking off the final phase of the revolution. Eden Pastora, also known as Commander Zero, rides a bus with fellow Sandinista guerrillas at the end of a hijacking and hostage-taking in Managua, Nicaragua. Also in 1977, he suffered a heart attack and was out of commission for a few months. Khomeini went to Iran from France. Throughout their rule, the Sandinistas arguably became more radicalized, especially in times of crisis. The FSLN finally staged a successful attack in December 1974: they took a group of elite partygoers hostage and the Somoza regime (now under the leadership of the junior Anastasio, Luis' brother) was forced to pay a ransom and release FSLN prisoners. The Nicaraguan government cancelled all of the annual public events commemorating the revolution out of concern over the coronavirus crisis. The guerilla fighters numbered around 5,000. In order to maintain influence, Carter met with the provisional government at the White House in September 1979, and asked Congress for additional aid to Nicaragua. The FSLN also began a widespread literacy campaign; prior to 1979 around half the population was illiterate, but that number dropped to 13 percent by 1983. They were also outraged at the United States over what they saw as consistent U.S. intervention in Nicaraguan affairs. Economic assistance to Nicaragua was halted in early 1981, and Reagan authorized the CIA to fund an exile paramilitary force in Honduras to harass Nicaragua; most of the recruits had been members of the National Guard under Somoza. "In 1961, the Sandinista National Liberation Front (Frente Sandinista de Liberación Nacional, or Sandinistas) was founded by Silvio Mayorga, Tomás Borge, and Carlos Fonseca.The group took its name from Augusto Cesár Sandino, who led a Liberal peasant army against the government of U.S.-backed Adolfo Díaz and the subsequent Nicaraguan government in the late 1920s and early 1930s. Luis continued to be very friendly to the U.S., allowing the CIA-backed Cuban exiles to embark from Nicaragua on their failed Bay of Pigs invasion. The group took its name from Augusto Cesár Sandino, who led a Liberal peasant army against the government of U.S.-backed Adolfo Díaz and the subsequent Nicaraguan government in the late 1920s and early 1930s. Instead of defining democracy in terms of elections, the FSLN believed that democracy meant popular support and participation. The Sandinistas called for a national uprising on September 9, and began to launch coordinated attacks on the cities. Documentation of Official U.S. Closer to home, in a number of small Central American countries, a crisis was looming that would help forge the ideas and alliances of the gathering internationalist New Right. Pre-Revolution and Cuba This took place in a region where many Catholic missionaries were stationed and the Church denounced the National Guard. The U.S. and Iran have a complicated history dating back decades. After the broad-based coalition against Somoza triumphed, the FSLN sought to consolidate its power to prevent the bourgeoisie from waging a successful counterrevolution. When the FSLN was pressured by the contras, Cuba increased its assistance to Nicaragua. Pedro Joaquín Chamorro's La Prensa newspaper covered opposition activities and detailed the human rights violations and corruption of the Somoza regime. Topic: Iranian Revolution The Iranian Revolution is believed to be one of the most significant events of history and brought many economic and global changes. Anastasio Somoza Debayle, son of former president Anastasio Somoza Garcia, served as president from 1967-1972 and 1974-1979, until he was ousted during the Sandinista revolution. Elements within the clergy promptly moved to exclude their former left-wing, nationalist, and intellectual allies from any positions of power in the new regime, and a return to conservative social values was enforced. In Iran, Islamic fundamentalists led by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini had adopted a militantly anti-U.S. posture after toppling … While the Sandinista Revolution succeeded in bettering the quality of life for Nicaraguans, the FSLN was in power only a little more than a decade, not enough time to truly transform society. Iranian Centrifuge Model Collection. Definition and Examples, Biography of Rubén Blades, the "Intellectual" of Salsa Music, https://history.state.gov/milestones/1977-1980/central-america-carter, Ph.D., Ethnomusicology, University of California Berkeley, M.A., Ethnomusicology, University of California Berkeley. Nonetheless, the FSLN assumed power again in 2006 under the leadership of Daniel Ortega. Forty-two years have passed since the Feb. 11, 1979, Iranian revolution -- one of the most important events in political history which led to a major social transformation in Tehran and the Middle East. ThoughtCo. Throughout their rule, the Sandinistas maintained a close relationship with Cuba. The FSLN was named after Augusto César Sandino, who fought against U.S. imperialism in Nicaragua in the 1920s. The Sandinistas nationalized Nicaragua's financial sector and major exports. That month, Sandinista fighters began to move in on Managua and engaged in various shootouts with the National Guard. The National Guard was notoriously corrupt, engaging in gambling, prostitution, and smuggling, and demanded bribes from citizens. In early 1979, the Carter administration ceased military aid to the National Guard and asked other countries to stop funding the Sandinistas. The U.S. was primarily concerned about the effect of the Nicaraguan Revolution on neighboring countries, specifically El Salvador, which would soon find itself in the midst of its own civil war. They seized some farm land and encouraged the formation of state farms and farming cooperatives, although they eventually distributed land to individual peasants as contra resistance grew. This emboldened the FSLN, which ramped up insurgent activities. Iran's interest in nuclear technology dates to the 1950s, when the Shah of Iran received technical assistance under the U.S. The Sandinistas presented these organizations as giving the Nicaraguan people a voice in the new revolutionary government and as promoting democratic participation. Relations between Iran, US have been tense since 1979 hostage crisis. On September 19, the Guardia launched an attack on the city, 150 km north of Managua. Atoms for Peace program. Deliveries of Soviet weapons from Cuba began almost immediately thereafter.”  Draper writes that the Sandinistas signed “economic, technical, scientific, and cultural agreements with the Soviet Union.”  In 1982, the Soviets increased their financial and military support to the FSLN, and again in 1983 after the arrival of General Ochoa, when it provided tanks, transport trucks, helicopters, and other materiel. Iran Crisis of 1946 Background. Iran marked the 42nd anniversary of the 1979 revolution this year in a remarkably subdued way owing to countrywide COVID-19 restrictions. Unfortunately, this time around he has proven to be more authoritarian and corrupt: constitutional amendments have been made to allow him to stay in power, and in the most recent election of 2016, his wife was his running mate. It came about as the culmination of decades of popular discontent mixed with economic turmoil and an increasingly repressive regime. The Sandinistas thus became worried that, in the future, Soviet support would decline. The coup, which reinstated the monarchy under the Western-friendly shah, eventually fueled a surge of nationalism which culminated in the 1979 Iranian Revolution. Sandinista guerillas arrive triomphant in the Nicaraguan capital of Managua following the resignation and expropriation of Dictator Anastasio Somoza. The Sandinistas paid lip service to this request. It began in the early 1960s with the founding of the Sandinista National Liberation front (FSLN), but didn't truly ramp up … Her work has been published by CNN Opinion, Pacific Standard, Poynter, NPR, and more. According to Kagan, “By March of 1980, the Sandinistas had already signed a party-to-party agreement with the Soviet Communist Party, as well as secret military protocols to begin receiving arms from the Soviet bloc. Nicaraguan president Anastasio Somoza Debayle sits in front of a row of weapons. Nonetheless, they set out to address land reform and the widespread poverty in both rural and urban areas. General Somoza is seen as Nicaragua's new "strong man.". Up until the late 1970s, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Nicaragua were ruled by corrupt, deadly, pro-American dictatorships. While Marxist in ideology, the Sandinistas did not implement Soviet-style centralized socialism, but instead a public-private model. The Sandinistas also maintained ties with the Soviet Union. Despite robust aid during 1985, the Sandinistas believed that Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev was less willing to support foreign revolutionary movements than previous Soviet leaders had been and that Soviet wishes to improve ties with the United States would hamper Soviet support. Definition and Examples, The Iran-Contra Affair: Ronald Reagan’s Arms Sales Scandal, The Guatemalan Civil War: History and Impact, Controversial Presidents of Central America, Operation Just Cause: The 1989 US Invasion of Panama, Biography of Manuel Noriega, Panamanian Dictator, The Good Neighbor Policy: History and Impact, What Is Guerrilla Warfare? In July, the American ambassador to Nicaragua informed Somoza that he should leave the country to minimize bloodshed. FSLN recruitment grew, particularly among young people. Founding Sandinista support for the Salvadoran rebels had a profound impact on U.S.-Nicaragua relations. In 1982, after Argentine-trained rebels blew up two bridges, the Sandinistas declared a state of emergency, and, among other things, restricted the Nicaraguan press. The goals of the FSLN were to continue Sandino's fight for national sovereignty, specifically to end U.S. imperialism, and to achieve a socialist revolution that would end the exploitation of Nicaraguan workers and peasants. According to the U.S. Office of the Historian, "The act required reports every six months from the Secretary of State on the status of human rights in Nicaragua and stipulated that the aid would be terminated if foreign forces in Nicaragua threatened the security of the United States or any of its Latin American allies." However, in 1984, facing military pressure from the contras and seeking to gain legitimacy abroad, the Sandinistas held elections in which they were largely successful. By spring 1979, the FSLN controlled various regions, and had struck a deal with more moderate opponents of Somoza. The Nicaraguan Civil War is more commonly known as the Nicaraguan Revolution. It culminated in fighting between the Sandinista rebels and the National Guard from 1978 to 1979, when the FSLN succeeded in overthrowing the dictatorship.