Salman Rushdie’s The Jaguar Smile is his first non-fiction work written about his experiences in Nicaragua. Rushdie reviews the political situation in Nicaragua.
Much of early Nicaraguan politics is characterized by rivalry between the liberal elite of León and the conservative elite of Granada. This rivalry led to civil war. American adventurer William Walker arrived in Nicaragua and won the Liberals’ war. He took over the country and anointed himself president. Fearing his expansion plans, several Central American countries started a war and executed him. The Conservatives then governed Nicaragua.
Taking advantage of the crack in the conservatives, José Santos led a liberal revolt that brought him to power.
Nicaragua has long periods of military dictatorship. Among them, Somoza’s stood out. The Somoza family came to power as a result of a pact engineered by the United States. One general who resisted this American attempt was Augusto Sandino.
After the US withdrawal from Nicaragua, General Sandino and the Sacasa government reached an agreement in exchange for agricultural land and retention of the armed forces. This was followed by a bitter faction between General Sandino and Somoza García. Sandino was killed by the National Guard.
After Sandino’s death, Somoza took control of the country. Rigobertro and Luis Somoza took the reins of government. followed by the death of his father.
Luis Somoza died of a heart attack. Then René Schick, who was a Somoza puppet, took power. Somoza’s brother, Anastasio Somoza, succeeded to the presidency after Schick. Carlos Fonseca adopted General Sandino as his hero and formed the Sandinista Liberation Front or SLF.
The SLF gained many Nicaraguan supporters because the Somozas failed to rebuild Nicaragua after the earthquake and also because of their mismanagement of the economy and rampant corruption.
The SLF took advantage of the worsening economic crisis. The murder of Joaquín, a prominent newspaper editor, caused people to anguish against the Somozas.
The SLF seized the reins of power in 1979. Somoza fled to Argentina where he was sent to his grave. SLF developed a program of a National Literacy Crusade. The Reagan administration cut all ties with the SLF as they were supporting the FMLN rebels in El Salvador. Reagan also imposed an embargo.
Due to these effects the Nicaraguan economy worsened. The United States supported an underground group, the Contras, and their goal was to overthrow the SLF government. However, the Soviet Union and Cuba were financing the Nicaraguan army. US support for the Contras was criticized around the world. The international court of justice issued a verdict against the US government.
Daniel Ortega was elected president in 1984. Right-wing opposition parties did not participate on the grounds that the SLF was rigging the elections. The United States government offered amnesty for Nicaraguans to settle in America. The International Court of Justice ordered the United States to pay 12 billion in reparation for violating Nicaragua’s sovereignty.