Word: somozaism
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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...five fearful and defiant days, the city of Matagalpa had stood proud: a rebellious stronghold against the mechanized might of Nicaragua's National Guard and its detested dictator, Anastasio Somoza. The sudden and apparently spontaneous uprising by the townspeople did not succeed in bringing down the regime. But the fact that it had occurred at all was symptomatic of the troubles facing Somoza's government. Following on the audacious capture the week before of Managua's National Palace, after which members of the leftist Sandinista National Liberation Front won the release of 59 political prisoners and received...
...National Guard's conquest of Matagalpa climaxed the second week of a drive by opponents of the regime to force the resignation of Somoza, 52, whose family has ruled Nicaragua since 1933. Somoza's monopoly of much of the country's industry and business and the National Guard's brutalization of the rural population have served to unite the opposition, which now ranges from the extreme left to extreme right. After the Sandinista assault on the palace, the Broad Opposition Front, a coalition of political and business groups, called a general strike to last until Somoza...
...young rebels, mostly teenagers, then went around accumulating-by force, in some cases-small arms, rifles and shotguns from residents of the city. By Sunday morning, Aug. 27, los muchachos (the boys) had enough firepower to start what they described as the "people's war against the Somoza regime...
...street corner, three masked youths demanded identification. Armed with small revolvers, they stressed that 'this is the people's fight.' While they are sympathetic to the Sandinistas, they said that few of them were actually members of the rebel organization. 'We all want Somoza to go,' added a youth, echoing a sentiment heard over and over in the town...
From his bunker in Managua, Somoza defended the Guard's actions in Matagalpa. The general, a graduate of West Point who speaks English fluently, compared the rebels to "Bronx street gangs-just juvenile delinquents." While admitting that the general strike had grown worse, he insisted he would not resign before his term ends in 1981. To do otherwise, he said, would "betray the aspirations of the people of Nicaragua to live in a free society...