Today marks the thirty year anniversary of the capture of Managua by Sandinista forces. On July 19, 1979, after years of armed struggle against the dictator Anastasio Somoza, the FSLN captured the capitol city and declared a new democratic government.
Throughout the 1980s the new government, led by Daniel Ortega, attempted to transform Nicaraguan society through education and health initiatives, but immediately found themselves under attack from US-backed insurgents. The ensuing conflict, which killed 50,000, was financed by America through the now-famous Iran-Contra scheme, run by the Reagan administration without Congressional knowledge.
Does anyone remember?
I was born in 1983, so I'm too young to remember any of this. But in 2001, at the age of 18, I spent three months in Nicaragua. Then, as an undergrad at the University of Washington's Jackson School of International Studies, I did extensive research on the history of the revolution and the US-sponsored insurgency. My travel to Nicaragua (I returned in 2008) and my research into the history of the country continues to be a difficult experience in many ways. As a proud American, this is a chapter of our history that few us know, even on the left, yet is full of death, sorrow, and lost hopes.
It's a coincidence of timing that just as I was writing my report on Iran-Contra, the Bush administration was beginning to sell the idea of war in Iraq. I was furious.
Do any of you old timers ;) out there remember these days? The Revolution, the Iran-Contra hearings?
Just curious what your memories are. Thanks.
p.s. I've been a lurker here since 2003, but my writing bug is back.