Somoza family
The Somoza family (Spanish: Familia Somoza) was the ruling family of Nicaragua from 1936 to 1979, presiding over an autocratic family dictatorship that lasted forty-three years and was closely allied with the United States.
Republic of Nicaragua República de Nicaragua | |||||||||
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| 1936–1979 | |||||||||
| Anthem: Salve a ti, Nicaragua (Spanish) "Hail to Thee, Nicaragua" | |||||||||
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| Capital | Managua | ||||||||
| Common languages | Spanish | ||||||||
| Religion | Roman Catholicism | ||||||||
| Government | Military dictatorship | ||||||||
| President of Nicaragua | |||||||||
• 1936-1937 | Carlos Alberto Brenes | ||||||||
• 1937-1947; 1950-1956 | Anastasio Somoza García | ||||||||
• 1947 | Leonardo Argüello Barreto | ||||||||
• 1947 | Benjamín Lacayo Sacasa | ||||||||
• 1947-1950 | Víctor Manuel Román y Reyes | ||||||||
• 1950 | Manuel Fernando Zurita | ||||||||
• 1956-1963 | Luis Somoza Debayle | ||||||||
• 1963-1966 | René Schick | ||||||||
• 1966-1967 | Lorenzo Guerrero | ||||||||
• 1967-1972; 1974-1979 | Anastasio Somoza Debayle | ||||||||
| Legislature | National Congress of Nicaragua | ||||||||
| Historical era | Interbellum, World War II, Cold War | ||||||||
| January 1 1936 | |||||||||
| 1960s | |||||||||
• Sandinista's Seizure of Power | July 17 1979 | ||||||||
| Currency | Nicaraguan córdoba | ||||||||
| ISO 3166 code | NI | ||||||||
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History
Anastasio Somoza García assumed the presidency after luring rebel leader Augusto César Sandino to peace talks, and murdering him soon afterwards. Somoza amended the Nicaraguan Constitution, concentrating all power in his hands, and appointed his relatives and cronies to top government positions.[1] After Anastasio Somoza was assassinated in 1956, his two sons, Luis and Anastasio Somoza Debayle, ruled the country until 1979.[2]
Although the Somozas only held the presidency for 30 of those 43 years, they were the power behind puppet presidents in the intervening years. They continued to control the National Guard. The differences in the Somozas' ruling style, from father to son, reflected their adaptation to the U.S.-Latin American policy.[3] Their regime was overthrown in 1979 by the Sandinista National Liberation Front during the Nicaraguan Revolution. The family fled to the United States on July 17, 1979, ending a civil war that devastated Nicaragua's economy and claimed more than 130,000 casualties.[4]
For their more than four decades in power, the Somoza family accumulated wealth through corporate bribes, industrial monopolies, land grabbing, and foreign aid siphoning. By the 1970s, the family owned 23 percent of the land in Nicaragua. The foreign aid-funded project to rebuild the city of Managua, which was devastated by the earthquake on December 23, 1972, was never implemented as businesses were forced to relocate to land owned by the family.[5] The Somoza's wealth reached $533 million, which amounted to half of Nicaragua's debt and 33 percent of the country's 1979 GDP.[6]
Three of the Somoza family members served as President of Nicaragua. They were:
- Anastasio Somoza García "Tacho" (1896–1956; President 1937–1947, 1950–1956), the father.
- Luis Somoza Debayle (1922–1967, President 1956–1963), his legitimate eldest son.
- Anastasio Somoza Debayle "Tachito" (1925–1980, President 1967–1972, 1974–1979), his second legitimate son.
Other members of the Somoza family include:
- José R. Somoza, half-brother of Anastasio Somoza Debayle
- Hope Portocarrero, wife of Anastasio Somoza Debayle
- Lillian Somoza de Sevilla Sacasa, daughter of Anastasio Somoza García
- Isabel Urcuyo (1924–2014), wife of Luis Somoza Debayle[7]
- Anastasio Somoza Portocarrero, son of Anastasio Somoza Debayle and his wife
- Martha Debayle, niece of Anastasio Somoza Debayle, Nicaraguan-Mexican radio hostess and entrepreneur
Luis Somoza Debayle
Luis Somoza Debayle (18 November 1922 – 13 April 1967) was the eldest son of Anastasio Somoza García. He was born in León, Nicaragua and received an American education at Saint Leo College Prep School, La Salle Military Academy and Louisiana State University.[8] He became a captain in the National Guard by the age of eighteen and entered Congress by 1950.[8] By 1956 he became the President of Congress, constitutionally empowering him to fill the Presidency in the instance of an unexpected vacancy.[9] Upon his father’s assassination in 1956, Luis Somoza became the acting President of Nicaragua. He was formally elected into presidency in 1957, making him the 26th President of Nicaragua.
See also
Nicaragua portal
References
- Newton, Michael (2014). Famous Assassinations in World History: An Encyclopedia [2 volumes]. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO. p. 539. ISBN 9781610692854.
- Keen, Benjamin; Haynes, Keith A. (2009). A History of Latin America. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. p. 450. ISBN 978-0-618-78318-2.
- Keen, Benjamin; Haynes, Keith (2009). A History of Latin America, Eight Edition. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. p. 450. ISBN 9780618783182.
- Hamilton, Lee H.; Inouye, Daniel K. (1987). Report of the Congressional Committees Investigating the Iran/Contra Affair. Washington, D.C.: Diane Publishing. p. 25. ISBN 978-0-7881-2602-4.
- Clifford, Staten (2010). The History of Nicaragua. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO. p. 77. ISBN 978-0-313-36038-1.
- Birdsall, Nancy; Williamson, John; Deese, Brian (2002). Delivering on Debt Relief: From IMF Gold to a New Aid Architecture. Washington, D.C.: Peterson Institute. pp. 134. ISBN 0881323314.
- "She's Mrs. Santa to the whole city". St. Louis Globe-Democrat. Managua. 25 December 1959. p. 43. Retrieved 21 January 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
- La Botz, Dan (2018). What Went Wrong? the Nicaraguan Revolution: a Marxist Analysis. Historical Materialism. ISBN 978-1-60846-823-2. OCLC 1017939248.
- Walker, Thomas W. (2019). Nicaragua: emerging from the shadow of the eagle. Routledge. ISBN 0-367-09817-2. OCLC 1110663100.