History and Politics

History:

Little is known about Nicaragua's first residents that supposedly inhabited the Atlantic coast about 8000 years ago.

During the prosperity of the Aztecs the people of Chorotega and Nicarao fled south and started to inhabit the area around Masaya in the 13 th century.

Christopher Columbus, known as Cristobal Colon in Latin America, reached Nicaragua during his fourth and final trip in 1502 but the first attempt to conquer the country was made seventeen years later by Spanish Pedro Arias Davila. He encountered hard resistance and fighting spirit from the regions inhabitants and was defeated in a brief battle. Shortly after, Francisco Hernandez de Cordoba, started his westward journey with the determination to lay the ground for the first Spanish settlements. The following 300 years the country was part of the Spanish Imperial and governed from the colonial capital of Guatemala.

Nicaragua won its independence in 1821 and was part of the united Central American Federation only a short period. After many years of anarchy a national government was established in 1845 but the conflict between Liberals in Leon and Conservatives in Granada wasn't over and is considered responsible for the 100 years of civil war that followed.

During the Californian gold rush (1849-1856) Nicaragua was made a transfer from the east to the west via Rio de San Juan and therefore only needing to use the land way for 18 km to the port of San Juan del Sur where ships were waiting to bring the travelers northwards.

In 1853 the American adventurer and filibuster William Walker was invited by the Liberals of Leon to conquer Granada. Two years later, Walker declared himself president of the nation; English was recognized as official language and slavery accepted. With the support from other Central American countries the politically divided Nicaraguans managed to defeat William Walker on September the 14 th 1856, now a national holiday. The mistake of the Liberals was in favor of the conservatives who ruled the country the following 30 years, thus not without American interference.

In the end of the 19 th century the Liberal leader Zelaya ruled the country for a few years, but in the beginning of the 20 th century the States reestablished the Conservatives in power. This provoked a Liberal protest and to keep control of railways, ports, cities and trade, the States were forced to step in again. The following years were characterized by the conflict between the Leon-based Liberals and the U.S favored Conservatists. A guerilla, FSLN (Sandinista Front for National Liberation) was started in the northern parts of the country and its liberal leader, Augusto C. Sandino, achieved two of his goals; the withdrawal of American army forces and the questioning of the longtime power of the Conservatives. The U.S answered by setting up the National Guard and supporting the young leader Anastasio Somoza Garcia when he finally seized control of the country in 1937. This was the beginning of a 42-year dictatorship, managed by three Somozas that by 1970 owned everything worth to possess.

FSLN was gaining support among discontented people in general and students in particular. Inspired by Castro they took power of Nicaragua in 1979 but soon realized that winning a war is easier than running a country. Somoza's land property was confiscated and divided, the literacy campaign in the 80's was successful but the mixed economy not popular within the commercial sector and soon they made enemies among all classes of the society. The U.S, that feared the cooperation between Nicaragua, Cuba and the Soviet Union, imposed an economic embargo 1985 and begun giving financial aid to the growing group of Contras, mainly formed by farmers and indigenous people. Despite of this FSLN was elected in 1984, an election that only Washington considered unfair. But the communist inspired party was not successful and by the end of the 80's their economy was ruined. At this stage the Costa Rican president Oscar Arias decided to help its neighbor in the north and, together with five other Central American countries, presented a radical peace accord, opposed by the U.S but successful in the way it pledged for freedom of political parties and democratic elections overseen by international agencies. An election was organized in 1990 and FSLN had to step back in favor of Violeta Barrios de Chamorro, leader of the Sandanista opposition. During her period as president, Dona Violeta reduced the army and started the process of disarming the Contras in exchange for land.

The elections in 1996 where held without international interference and widely criticized. Winner was the liberal Arnoldo Aleman whose mandate turned out to be an economical success only for him.

To prevent the FSLN from getting the power back in the elections in 2001, a massive campaign in favor of the vice president under Aleman, Enrique Bolanos, was held. The campaign focused on the hardship of the 80's and 73 years old Bolanos won by 53-44%.

Government and politics:

The republic of Nicaragua was established when it gained its independence from Spain in 1821.

The country is ruled by one national government and one parallel government, responsible for the administration of the two autonomous regions on the Atlantic coast. The leaders of this government are elected separately from the rest of the country.

The Nicaraguan government is divided into four branches. The executive branch consists of the president and the vice president. The Supreme Court forms the Judicial branch that is in charge of the complete judicial system and consists of twelve justices elected by the National Assembly for seven years. The Legislative branch is formed by the National Assembly and consists of a chamber with 90 deputies representing Nicaragua's geographical regions and elected from a list provided by the major political parties. Additionally, ex-presidents and defeated presidential candidates that earn a certain amount of votes are guaranteed a seat in the chamber.

Elections are held every five years and organized by the Supreme Electoral Council that consists of seven magistrates, chosen by the National Assembly for five years.

The present constitution was written in 1987 and includes the freedom of speech, religion, movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, repatriation and the right to assemble and associate. It also prohibits any kind of discrimination.

Until 1979 when FSLN took control of the country, the Conservatives and the Liberals were the only parties to be found in Nicaragua. By the time for the election in 1990 there were 20 different parties in opposition and this number increased to 35 in 1996. A new law was written in 2000 to make the entry for smaller parties more difficult and in the election of 2001 only three parties were represented, FSLN, PLC and PCN that consists of the moderate- right representatives of the Conservatives.