Word: somozaism
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1970-1979
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...Somoza is easily the most hated man in Nicaragua. In conversations in all parts of the country, held in near-whispers because there are thought to be "orejas." National Guard cars," everywhere, his name is pronounced bitingly, with vengeance. The corpulent dictator is said to own almost everything and to job what he does not own in December 1972 an earthquake leveled several square miles of downtown Managua, killing 10,000 people. Somoza is widely suspected of stealing some of the international aid that flowed into the country after the disaster. (Two years later, the wreckage has been cleared away...
...recent months the criticism of Somoza has become even more bitter. Nicaragua's chronic crisis has been exacerbated by rising food costs, seen by the people as an indication that Somoza is speculating in prices (certainly the shift in rural production from foodstuffs to the more profitable export crop of cotton has contributed to the hike, and Nicaragua's food prices are clearly higher than those in neighboring Central American countries.) Additionally, the housing shortage in Managua remains acute, and a two-month strike of construction workers has halted all rebuilding save that which takes place protected by armed guards...
...deepening bitterness is complemented by a growing hope. To the traditional image of Somoza as a fat, lying thief a new demension has been added--that of a coward. The dictator is now mocked for living in an underground redoubt, surrounded by bodyguards, for being afraid to appear in public. One young woman claims that he is acutally dead and that the country is being directed by a mummy...
...cause of Somoza's fears is an intelligent, courageous and confident guerilla organization, the Sandinista National Liberation Front. The Sandinistas have been struggling against the dictatorship since the middle 1960)s, but they captured the national imagination with a spectacular kidnapping at the end of last year. In an effort that has become known as "the event of December 27," or merely "the 27th," the Sandinistas broke into a diplomatic reception in Managua and took hostage eleven of Somoza's inner circle, leaving the dictator no choice but to comply with their demands, which were; freedom and guaranteed flight...
...Front has named itself after Augusto Cesar Sandino, a Nicaraguan patriot who alternately battled, defeated and eluded U.S. Marines in the hills for seven years before he was tricked and murdered by the original Somoza in 1933. The Marines, sent to enforce Nicaragua's payment of loans held by North-American banks, were not the first imperialists to interfere in Nicaragua's affairs...