Revolution Square
“Somoza may be a son of a bitch, but he’s our son of a bitch.”, President FD Roosevelt supposedly said of the brutal dictator in 1939, and that sums up pretty much the history of Nicaragua in one sentence.
Anastasio Somoza García ruled Nicaragua as a brutal family dictatorship from 1937 till his assassination in September 1956, and was supported and funded by successive US presidents. Prior to that, the US actually occupied Nicaragua from 1912 – 1933.
Years later, Ronald Reagan signed a top secret directive to allocate $19 million to the CIA to conduct covert actions against the Nicaraguan government who were no longer deemed friendly to the U.S. Eventually the plan leaked despite denials and, in the years to come, U.S. support of the rebels became a highly charged issue among the American public. Congressional and public criticisms of the program eventually drove the Reagan administration to subvert congressional bans on aid to the Contras by channelling money through Iran. These actions resulted in what came to be known as the Iran-Contra scandal of 1986.
It’s no wonder then that the country is a basket case. This morning on our walking tour of the city, our guide told us that since independence in 1821, Nicaragua has only been at peace and free for five of those years. It’s had dictatorships, revolutions, been occupied, had civil wars, and been ravaged by pandemics. It’s bred a whole mentality of discord and unrest. The last round of protests occurred as recently as 2018-2020, and left over 500 dead. I’ll leave any comments about the current political situation until we leave the country.
So it will come as no surprise to you that Nicaragua is the poorest country in Central America. The literacy rate sits around 83%, 13% of the country lives under the poverty line, whilst 36% lives hand to mouth. It is known as the land of volcanoes, which our guide said was a euphemism for a combustible and inflammatory society. Certainly in the town of Leon there were squares and murals dedicated to heroes of the various revolutions, and streets lined with red and black flags in memory of those who spilt blood in the process. Unfortunately the constant fighting and protests have ensured that development of the country never really gets started. After the history of the last 200 years of meddling and occupation by the U.S., it comes as no surprise that they are supporting Russia in the current Ukrainian war.
We wandered around the usual squares, shopped at the central market and visited the obligatory cathedral. They have a proud history of literature and famous authors, and we visited a whole park of statues of famous writers.
A quiet afternoon still recovering from the brutal day yesterday, then out to nice local restaurant for dinner, although it turned out at payment time that they didn’t take credit cards. Ah Nicaragua!
Street commemorating the martyrs of the various revolutions
City Square
The Square at Night
The Leon Cathedral