Word: somozaism
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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...Anti-Somoza rebels resume their offensive...
Practically every Nicaraguan, from Dictator Anastasio ("Tacho") Somoza Debayle to his opponents in the Sandinista National Liberation Front, usually tries to go on vacation in Holy Week. The traditional holiday was shattered last week by a bloody eruption of the country's sputtering civil war. Discarding a truce they had announced for the week before Easter, 100 battle-hardened guerrillas took up positions in trenches and behind concrete barricades in the city of Esteli (pop. 25,000), where hundreds died in the bloodiest fighting of last September's Sandinista uprising. They were quickly joined by young protesters...
...violence now threatens to spread beyond Nicaragua's borders, into the hills of neighboring Costa Rica where Somoza's planes and artillery have been hitting alleged rebel bases. Costa Rica, which until this year relied primarily on a small civilian defense force, has reportedly begun purchasing weapons from abroad. The possibility exists that Venezuala (who cut off Nicaragua's oil shipments during the fighting in the fall) and the pro-Somoza governments of Guatemala and El Salvador could become involved in the conflict...
...Somoza, however, American support remains crucial to stave off the financial effects of turbulence. He is currently trying to arrange an eight year loan of $88 million from a consortium of U.S. banks which would, in the words of one American banker, "give the country a breather." The Nicaraguan government has promised banks that it would catch up on its current interest payments by March 31, from sales of coffee, cotton, meat, and sugar in the early part of the year that provides the majority of the country's revenue. Meanwhile, there has been talk of possible Sandanista intervention...
Whether or not Somoza manages to solve his financial woes, it is doubtful that he can survive politically in his authoritarian position until the next scheduled presidential "election" in 1981. Before then, both he and the United States government which supported him for so long will have to make some difficult choices about the future of Nicaragua. Somoza must decide whether his privileged position is worth the continued destruction of his nation. The Americans must figure out whether they can afford to witness this destruction as a result of their own unrealistic and ambiguous policies...