Our international flight to Nicaragua will land at the Augusto Sandino International Airport in Managua. The airport and the Sandinista revolutionary movement, is named after Augusto Cesar Sandino.
Sandino was the out-of-wedlock son of a well-to-do landowner and an Indian woman and he was born in 1885. His life coincided with the American occupation of Nicaragua (1865 to 1877, 1894, 1896, 1898, 1899, 1907, 1910, 1912 to 1925, and 1926 to 1933).
He worked for his father until the age of 25 and then was obliged to leave the country after wounding a man who insulted his mother. He worked in Mexico for fifteen years and he returned to Nicaragua as a mature 40 year-old man who was passionate about his Indian heritage and who held strong nationalist and anti-imperialist ideals. When a liberal insurrection erupted in 1926 against the US occupation forces and the corrupt pro-US government of the day, Sandino organized a fighting unit. For the next 8 years until his death, he was the guerrilla hero of the people, the Robin Hood of Nicaragua. His guerrilla fighters were a constant thorn for the US military forces and he was an inspiration to the generation of young Nicaraguans who would eventually achieve independence and end the American control.
The US has an almost two century record of intervention in Nicaragua. The Monroe Doctrine, a US policy introduced in 1823, "legalized" US hegemony over all of Latin America. In 1856, William Walker, a US soldier of fortune, invaded Nicaragua and proclaimed himself President. During the twentieth century, the US occupation sustained control in Nicaragua with a variety of measures including forced resettlement. Sandino's mountain army sustained the hope of the average Nicaraguan.
After the US military withdrew in 1933, the populace and Sandino were optimistic that true liberal reforms would be possible. However, by then the infamous National Guard was in place as a proxy for the US military, and the man chosen to head this brutal force was Anastasio Garcia Somoza. Sadly, Sandino was fooled by the rhetoric of peace and he negotiated with the government. The image below shows Sandino and Somoza after a "successful" round of peace negotiations. Several days later, Somoza had Sandino assassinated. Two years later in 1936, Somoza installed himself as President and ushered in 33 years of family dictatorship. US influence continued so strong under the Somoza regimes that the day Somoza fled the country, the Sandinistas were satisfied that finally, "the last US marine" had left the country.
Twenty five years later in 1961, the spirit of Augusto Sandino re-emerged with the formation of the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN), the movement that achieved independence on July 19, 1979. That same month I moved back to Calgary after six years of post graduate work at the University of Toronto. During my years at U of T, I followed the Sandinista struggle, and like many university students of my generation, I was not comfortable with the colonialist and imperialist attitudes that were so prevalent in my parents generation. I supported changes that would lead to democracy, freedom of speech, and improved education and health care. The Sandinista revolution accomplished this. Even so, there is still work to be done, and I like to think that my efforts are supportive of the original liberal and social ideals of the Sandinista Revolution.
References
Morris, KE. Unfinished Revolution - Daniel Ortega and Nicaragua’s Struggle for Liberation. Lawrence Hill Books. Chicago, USA. 2010.
Walker TW, Wade CJ. Nicaragua. Living in the Shadow of the Eagle. Westview Press. Colorado, USA. Third Edition. 2011.
Sandino was the out-of-wedlock son of a well-to-do landowner and an Indian woman and he was born in 1885. His life coincided with the American occupation of Nicaragua (1865 to 1877, 1894, 1896, 1898, 1899, 1907, 1910, 1912 to 1925, and 1926 to 1933).
He worked for his father until the age of 25 and then was obliged to leave the country after wounding a man who insulted his mother. He worked in Mexico for fifteen years and he returned to Nicaragua as a mature 40 year-old man who was passionate about his Indian heritage and who held strong nationalist and anti-imperialist ideals. When a liberal insurrection erupted in 1926 against the US occupation forces and the corrupt pro-US government of the day, Sandino organized a fighting unit. For the next 8 years until his death, he was the guerrilla hero of the people, the Robin Hood of Nicaragua. His guerrilla fighters were a constant thorn for the US military forces and he was an inspiration to the generation of young Nicaraguans who would eventually achieve independence and end the American control.
The sovereignty and liberty of a people
are not to be discussed but rather,
defended with weapons in hand.
Liberty is won not with flowers but with bullets.
The US has an almost two century record of intervention in Nicaragua. The Monroe Doctrine, a US policy introduced in 1823, "legalized" US hegemony over all of Latin America. In 1856, William Walker, a US soldier of fortune, invaded Nicaragua and proclaimed himself President. During the twentieth century, the US occupation sustained control in Nicaragua with a variety of measures including forced resettlement. Sandino's mountain army sustained the hope of the average Nicaraguan.
After the US military withdrew in 1933, the populace and Sandino were optimistic that true liberal reforms would be possible. However, by then the infamous National Guard was in place as a proxy for the US military, and the man chosen to head this brutal force was Anastasio Garcia Somoza. Sadly, Sandino was fooled by the rhetoric of peace and he negotiated with the government. The image below shows Sandino and Somoza after a "successful" round of peace negotiations. Several days later, Somoza had Sandino assassinated. Two years later in 1936, Somoza installed himself as President and ushered in 33 years of family dictatorship. US influence continued so strong under the Somoza regimes that the day Somoza fled the country, the Sandinistas were satisfied that finally, "the last US marine" had left the country.
The sinister embrace - Somoza and Sandino
Twenty five years later in 1961, the spirit of Augusto Sandino re-emerged with the formation of the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN), the movement that achieved independence on July 19, 1979. That same month I moved back to Calgary after six years of post graduate work at the University of Toronto. During my years at U of T, I followed the Sandinista struggle, and like many university students of my generation, I was not comfortable with the colonialist and imperialist attitudes that were so prevalent in my parents generation. I supported changes that would lead to democracy, freedom of speech, and improved education and health care. The Sandinista revolution accomplished this. Even so, there is still work to be done, and I like to think that my efforts are supportive of the original liberal and social ideals of the Sandinista Revolution.
References
Morris, KE. Unfinished Revolution - Daniel Ortega and Nicaragua’s Struggle for Liberation. Lawrence Hill Books. Chicago, USA. 2010.
Walker TW, Wade CJ. Nicaragua. Living in the Shadow of the Eagle. Westview Press. Colorado, USA. Third Edition. 2011.
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