Bjergo And Barash Causal Model

Nicaragua was a primary example for the efforts and motives of the United States during the Cold War. “Nicaragua was one of those places where freedom was at risk, together with Afghanistan and Angola and even Poland” which made the United States see them as a place that needed assistance from the largest and most successful democracy of the time. Following the election of President Reagan, there was a resurgence in American efforts of preventing the spread of communism. Although Nicaragua had been in the sights of the United States for so long, they revitalized their efforts in a new scheme with Reagan’s administrations involvement. In Nicaragua, there was a revolt brewing with anti-communist ties. The revolt was being led by the rebel group, the contras, who aligned themselves with American hoping for assistance within their rebellion. The CIA and the administration was assisting a group in overthrowing its established government to help promote its ideological perspective within Central America. This would not seem uncommon for the United States government during the Cold War Era, due to the fact that they had done this on so many different occasions since the Cold War with the Soviet Union began in 1945.

Though one must question why was the Nicaraguan President Jose Zelaya overthrown? Was it personal interests again as it was in Hawaii or was it protecting the Nicaraguan citizens? As saw before in Hawaii, it

The history between the U.S. and Nicaragua has always been aimed at making sure there politically ideologies remain in line with our own. With the spread of communism, the U.S. had been involved in Nicaragua since 1912. The U.S. has acted as Big Brother and used military force when pro U.S. leaders were facing rebellion. Unfortunately in 1936 when the U.S. began training the Nicaraguan National Guard, there was a forceful takeover by a man named Somoza Garcia. The era of rule under the leadership and guidance of Garcia lasted for 43 years until a group known as the “FSLN” which stands for the Sandinista National Liberation Front was created which was essentially anti Somoza Garcia. The FSLN was a communist group which wanted to make Nicaragua a socialist state. Ultimately the group took control of the country and committed numerous human rights violations and also stole foreign aid for themselves. So with this takeover began a very rocky and difficult relationship with the U.S.

Nicaragua is the largest Central American country and was settled in as a Spanish colony back in the 1520's. In 1522 Spanish explorer Gil Gonzalez de Avila named the colony "Nicaragua" after an Amerindian chief named Nicarao who once ruled the area, making Nicaragua have Spanish and Indian cultures. Back in 1523-24 Francisco Hernandez de Cordoba officially completed his exploration of Nicaragua. In 1838 Nicaragua fully gained its independence from Spain. William Walker assumed presidency over the country in 1856, and had seeked U.S. annexation as well as sanctioning slavery. General Jose Santos Zelaya was Nicaragua's first dictator that took power in 1893. National hero Cesar Augusto Sandino starts a rebellion against US occupiers and other

Additionally, he emphasized how the Sandinistas and its Marxist-Leninist regime represented destabilization to its neighbors. Even though his statements were powerful, they needed to be supported with actions. Therefore, strong financial and military support of the Contras against the communist Nicaraguan government, and the aid given to the government of El Salvador in their fight against the communist guerrillas were critical. In the case of Nicaragua's contra guerrillas, which were created to fight the revolutionary Sandinista government, Reagan referred to the Contras as "the moral equivalent of the Founding Fathers" and the United States spent $1 billion on them; the fighting in Nicaragua killed as many as 50,000 people while Honduras served as a staging ground for US Nicaraguan

Whether it is the Spanish governor Pedrarias versus the Indian chieftain Diriangen or the Somoza family versus Sandinista leaders, it is always a fight for freedom or dictatorship. The anti-Americanism of some Nicaraguans also spans back centuries, and it is at least partially justified. From William Walker’s conquest and presidency to America “stealing” the Panama Canal, and the later betrayal of Roosevelt and Nixon, there was plenty of reasons to harbor resentment for Americans. Sandino, the hero who fought the U.S. and inspired the Sandinista revolution, once told an American reporter, “Tell your people that there might be bandits in Nicaragua but that they are not necessarily

“The people of Nicaragua were suffering oppression. This made us develop an awareness which eventually led us to commit ourselves to the struggle against the domination of the capitalists of our country in collusion with the United States government.” (Daniel Ortega 1974) As has been discussed throughout the semester thus far many countries throughout Latin America have experienced a political revolution in some way, shape, or form. In the early 1970’s Nicaragua joined the long list of Latin American countries to experience a revolution when the Frente Sandinista de Liberacion Nacional (FSLN) lead by Daniel Ortega successfully overthrew the Somoza dynasty. Many people often times have a misconception of what exactly a political revolution

Anastasio Somoza Garcia was one of Sacasa’s subordinates. He was the head of the Nicaraguan National Guardsmen. In 1936, with the aid of the United States, the National Guardsmen overthrew Sacasa. The United States was instrumental in the efforts to overthrow Sacasa through providing food, training, and uniforms to the National Guardsmen. On January 1, 1937, Anastasio Somoza Garcia assumed the title of President of Nicaragua. The Somoza family dynasty remained in power for the next 46 years.

Fernando Cardenal, serving as the National Literacy Crusade Coordinator, and Valerie Miller, a CNA advisor, outlined that the literacy campaign would not just eradicate illiteracy, but create an identity of a “new man [and a] new woman” for Nicaraguans. Through the CNA, the Sandinistas hoped to introduce young Nicaraguans to the difficulties and hardship endured by Nicaragua’s poor rural population. For many of the brigadistas who volunteered, the 1980 literacy campaign served as their first experience with the other side of Nicaragua’s population, a side that remained unseen and not thought of by many under the Somoza regime. The life that brigadistas lived in during the CNA significantly altered their perspectives on society, both politically and culturally. The Sandinistas did in fact succeed at redefining the concept of the Nicaraguan experience for its youth.

At birth, many families struggled to keep their children alive until adulthood. The countries poverty prevented people from feeding their children, leading to the malnutrition of thousands and the negative health effects that come with it. But even after reaching maturity the lives of people remain a struggle. Many women are forced to raise their children alone while struggling to provide a living for themselves and their offspring. Lack of education in Central America prevent men and women from finding work, making survival very difficult. Death squads murdered thousands of innocent lives in brutal ways. The human rights movement CO-MADRES was started to call out against the extreme lack of civil liberties. Other groups like the FMLN and the FPL fought against the government to stop the social injustices the Salvadorian government committed. The government needed to help eliminate the massive problem of poverty. But because it did not, guerrilla groups were formed by El Salvador’s people in hope to change what the government could not. By forming death squads in an attempt to stop those groups, the countries situation led only to more death and

The United States has been involved with funding and aiding Nicaragua in many different situations though the years after the Somoza assassination. From the devastating earthquake, to rebel Contra groups, the American government has tried relentlessly to spread capitalism in Nicaragua. The FSLN overthrew Anastasio Somoza Debayle in 1979, ending the Somoza dynasty, and established a revolutionary government in its place. Following their seizure of power, the Sandinistas have been successfully in control of the Nicaraguan government since 1979.

While the Civil Rights movement in the United States was one of the more prominent movements recognized throughout the world, there were other struggles occurring in the realm of civil rights in Nicaragua. This Somoza family ruled the country in a harsh and unscrupulous way for more than four decade and was later overthrown when workers, businessmen, peasants, students,

From 1979-1992, a civil war took place, pitting the lower class, El Salvadorian people against their own government to fight for their new opportunities. In order to help the people of El Salvador create these opportunities for themselves, the US troops went in and trained the common people how to fight and how to use the kind of weapons that our military uses. In the middle of the war we left the people to use the training witch we thought they we use to fight against their economy but when the war ended, the people of El Salvador were left with the skill taught by the best military in the world, violence and war. This left them with many conditions that lead to gang violence.

El Salvador was not running so well during this period of time and the people in control blame the campesinos (the poor people) because

In Guatemala, a revolution was now on the rise and was beginning to obtain many of the people in this land. It lasted over 36 years and saw more