Nicaraguan Revolution
In 1978 and 1979 a nationwide insurrection led by the Sandinista Front overthrew the Somoza family dictatorship in Nicaragua.
Overview
The Somoza dynasty had ruled since the 1930s behind the National Guard. The corruption that followed the 1972 Managua earthquake and the 1978 murder of newspaper editor Pedro Joaquin Chamorro ignited a broad opposition uniting business, labor, students, and the Sandinista National Liberation Front founded in 1961. Urban insurrections took town after town until Anastasio Somoza fled on 17 July 1979. The new junta nationalized Somoza holdings and launched literacy and health campaigns, but faced a contra war financed from the United States through the 1980s that killed tens of thousands. The 1990 election transferred power peacefully, yet the revolution and counterrevolution defined Nicaraguan politics for decades.
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