Nicaragua: geography, history, and culture

Nicaragua

The Civil War in Nicaragua was one of the defining events from the 1980s, and it also happened to be a defining event in my personal life and that of my family. The argument in question was over the nature of the revolution in Nicaragua, and the political motivations of the Sandinistas. My assertion is that the situation in my home country is not as black-and-white as it has been presented in the American media, and to a lesser degree, the Canadian media. I believe that the situation that gave rise to this argument is rooted in a lack of accurate media coverage. Because I am from a Nicaraguan background, but also have one American parent, I can present a unique perspective that illuminates both sides of the argument to show that neither the Sandinistas nor the Americans had the best interests of Nicaragua at heart.

During this argument, the other person said that the Sandinistas were doing the right thing and had the best interests of the country at heart. I will admit that the Sandinistas did at least have a greater stake in the land and community, and in the preservation of Nicaraguan culture. However, it would be horribly wrong to assume, as Chomsky does, that Nicaraguans universally loved the communist Sandinista movement. During the course of our argument, it was suggested that Chomsky and other analysts have shown the Sandinistas to be representative of a liberating force that championed the rights of the poor. This may be true in theory, as this was in fact the prevailing ideology of the revolutionaries. As we all know, communist revolutionary forces rarely practice what they preach and often create more problems than they profess to solve. As with Cuba, the revolution in Nicaragua was to be fought at the expense of freedom and liberty. The United States was not entirely wrong to fear the encroachment of communism in our country.

However, you are right to point out the damning corruption practiced by Reagan's administration during this time. Chomsky is in fact correct to point out, "No real guerrillas anywhere in the world have ever had resources even remotely like what the United States gave the contras," (1). Moreover, it is true that prior to the Sandinistas, Nicaragua was in grave trouble being ruled by an elitist oligarchy that "intentionally kept a large part of the Nicaraguan people illiterate," (Klerlein 1). Nicaraguans wanted change; all but a few called for it. Many understood that democracy would have been far preferable to what was currently going on, including my grandparents. Yet when the Sandinistas took power, my family was forced to leave. Suddenly it was not only the poor who were targets but anyone who did not agree with the Sandinista model of thoughtless redistribution of property.

During our argument you stated: "The Contras are one of America's greatest embarrassments. We kept meddling in the affairs of other countries, including Iran and Nicaragua and now look what happened. Nicaragua has experienced stunted economic growth and Iran is a complete mess," (Smith). I understand where you are coming from, and you are not wrong to say this. However, I also believe that you are jumping to conclusions and making other illogical judgments based on what you have read. Just because America was wrong to have intervened in the precise manner in which they did, does not automatically render the Sandinistas right. They were both wrong, the Sandinistas and the Americans. That is what I was trying to argue when we were having our heated debate. The cause and effect relationship here is between the facts and our interpretations of those facts.

I was too emotional during our argument, because of my family background, to formulate my responses in a manner that was clear and coherent. Now, I have had the opportunity to take a step back. I can see that you were mainly criticizing the United States for their actions. I also condemn what Ronald Reagan did to my country, as well as neighboring countries in Central America. Yet we both must remember that the root causes of these problems go back a long time -- to the days of colonization and the rape and plunder of our lands by the colonialists. The indigenous people and the slaves brought in suffered, and even after independence, the oligarchic families stripped money and power from the masses. Even average people who were neither very wealthy nor very poor fared well. I think you forgot that not all Nicaraguans were peasants, and that there were many that condemned both the Sandinistas and also the actions of the United States.