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The Political and Social Effects of the Sandinista Revolution in Nicaragua

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“The people of Nicaragua were suffering oppression. This made us develop an awareness which eventually led us to commit ourselves to the struggle against the domination of the capitalists of our country in collusion with the United States government.” (Daniel Ortega 1974) As has been discussed throughout the semester thus far many countries throughout Latin America have experienced a political revolution in some way, shape, or form. In the early 1970’s Nicaragua joined the long list of Latin American countries to experience a revolution when the Frente Sandinista de Liberacion Nacional (FSLN) lead by Daniel Ortega successfully overthrew the Somoza dynasty. Many people often times have a misconception of what exactly a political revolution …show more content…

Others argue that the changes seen within a society during the time of revolution are short-lived and often times forgotten within a matter of years. Despite these two differing arguments over the exact meaning of the term revolution one thing remains constant. At the heart of any definition of revolution the word change can be found. For example, Samuel Huntington defines revolution as “rapid, fundamental, and violent domestic change in the dominant values, myths, political institutions, social structure, leadership, government activity, and politics.” (Booth 117) On the other hand, Theda Skocpol defines revolution as “rapid, basic transformations of a society’s state and class structure, accompanied by and in part accomplished through popular revolts from below.” (Booth 117) Finally, Eric Selbin argues that “revolution and its social transformation are more likely where popular rebellion has cultural roots and precedents.” (Booth 117) The Sandinista Revolution in the early 1970’s provides a perfect example in regards to the transformation of society that each one of these definitions promises. However, in order to determine which definition of the term revolution most accurately describes the Sandinista Revolution in Nicaragua two key questions must be analyzed. First, it must be determined how strong and persistent are the

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