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- From: harelb@math.cornell.edu (misc.activism.progressive co-moderator)
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- Subject: The Crimes of Nicaragua (II)
- Message-ID: <1992Sep6.084310.10343@mont.cs.missouri.edu>
- Date: 6 Sep 92 08:43:10 GMT
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- The Crimes of Nicaragua (II)
-
-
- ==============================================
- Life Before the Revolution -- a brief overview
- ==============================================
-
-
- "The National Guard quickly became the personal army of the Somozas.
- With political power came economic power, passed on from father to
- sons. The family came to own a quarter of Nicaragua's land, plus
- banks, ports, newspapers, airlines, a shipping fleet, and many
- industries ... In 1979, Anastasio Somoza Debayle, son of the original
- dictator, was estimated to be the ninth richest man in the world.
-
- "By the eve of the revolution, 60% of the people i the countryside had
- no land at all. More than half the country's land was in the hands of
- 1% of the landowners. The majority of the population lived in dire
- poverty. 50% of children over five suffered from malnutrition. 46%
- died before the age of four.
-
- "Before fleeing the country, Somoza had bombed schools, hospitals,
- factories, and housing... Somoza has looted the national treasure and
- left the country with one of the world's highest per capita debts."
-
- [Oxfam America _Nicaragua: Development Under Fire_, 1984.]
-
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
-
- "When the successful ``final offensive'' defeated [Somoza's National]
- Guard and brought the Sandinistas to power, Nicaragua's new government
- found the country in a desperate situation. Almost two percent of the
- population had died in the insurrection, and many more were wounded.
- Material damage from the war was great, perhaps half a billion
- dollars, while foreign debt came to $1.6 billion. The later amounted
- to approximately $640 per capita, three times the median annual income
- of the poorer 50% of the population. (The average GNP per capita for
- all Nicaraguans was slightly over $800) The national treasury had been
- looted, while the Somoza family had accumulated a fortune of over $500
- million. [8]"
-
- [8]: Howard Wiarda and Harvey Kline (editors), _Latin American
- Politics and Development_ (Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1985), chapter
- 21, especially page 509
-
- [Page 27 in: _What Are We Afraid Of? An Assessment of the ``Communist
- Threat'' in Central America_ by John Lamperti, for the American
- Friends Service Committee (published also by South End Press) $5 plus
- $2 shipping from: Literature Resources // American Friends Service
- Committee // 1501 Cherry St. // Philadelphia, PA 19102 TEL
- (215)-241-7048 or 7167. See AML resource files AFSCcatalog and
- South.end.press.]
-
-
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-
-
- =============================================
- T h e " N i c a r a g u a L i b r a r y "
- =============================================
-
- *
- * =========
- * Nicaragua
- * =========
- *
- WHO-WERE CONTRAS Contras' origins; make-up; practices - documented
- FSLN H-RIGHTS Documented HRs comparison w/Somoza,Guat,ES,others
- FSLN MISKITOS Sandinista treatment of Miskitos;Charges & Realit
- FSLN NICAJEWS Debunks charges of Sandinista 'Anti-Semitism'
- *
- OXFAM84 NICARAG Oxfam America's 1984 report on Nicaragua, in full
- FSLN ACHIEVE Documented: achievements of the Nica. revolution
- *
- NICA-84 ELECTION Documented: Fair under Sandinistas; US subversion
- FAIRNESS NICA-USA Flwup:`Is Nicaragua More Democratic than the US?'
- NICRAGUA ELECTION Study in US subversion of '90 Nicaraguan election
-
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