Adiós Muchachos: A Memoir of the Sandinista Revolution

Chronology, 1979–1990

Chronology, 1979–1990 1979 MAY 24 The fsln begins its final offensive against Anastasio Somoza Debayle’s regime. JUNE 4 The fsln convenes a general revolutionary strike and business shutdown. JUNE 16 The Government Junta for National Reconstruction (jgrn) is announced. It includes Violeta Chamorro, Moisés Hassan, Daniel Ortega, Sergio Ramírez, and Alfonso Robelo. JULY 17 Somoza resigns as president of the Republic and flees to the United States. JULY 19 The fsln’s guerrilla troops enter Managua in triumph and occupy the capital. JULY 20 The Government Junta arrives in Managua from León. The Fundamental Statute of the Republic repeals the Constitution, disbands the National Guard and intelligence organizations, and defines the powers of the state. With the promulgation of Decree 3, all the wealth belonging to the Somoza family is confiscated. JULY 22 The Law of National Emergency is declared. JULY 26 The Sandinista Workers’ Federation (cst) is organized. The financial system is nationalized. AUG. 6 International commerce is nationalized. AUG. 8 Decree 3 is broadened to include Somoza family members, as well as civilian and military supporters. 212 | CHRONOLOGY, 1979–1990 AUG. 21 The Statute of Rights and Guarantees of Nicaraguan Citizens is issued. The death penalty is abolished. AUG. 22 The Sandinista Popular Army (eps) is created. AUG. 25 The state takes control of natural resources. SEPT. 30 Higher education is declared free of charge. OCT. 31 The National Financial System is created to direct the nationalized economy NOV. 29 The National Fund to Fight Unemployment is created. DEC. 20 The Lease Law reduces rents and outlines the rights of tenants. 1980 FEB. 5 A list of maximum prices for eleven essential consumer commodities is approved. FEB. 22 The Consumer Defense Law is enacted. MARCH 22 The National Literacy Crusade begins. APRIL 18 Violeta Chamorro resigns from the Government Junta for National Reconstruction (jgrn) APRIL 22 Alfonso Robelo resigns from the jgrn. MAY 13 The U.S. government makes the jgrn’s reconstitution a condition for a $70 million loan. MAY 18 The fsln names Conservatives Rafael Córdoba Rivas and Arturo Cruz as new members of the jgrn. AUG. 18 The National Literacy Crusade concludes with more than 400,000 literate. The illiteracy rate is reduced from 50 percent to 12 percent . AUG. 18 Elections are announced for 1985. SEPT. 12 President Carter approves $75 million in economic aid to Nicaragua. SEPT. 17 Anastasio Somoza Debayle is murdered in Asunción, Paraguay. NOV. 4 Ronald Reagan is elected president of the United States. NOV. 11–12 cosep (The Superior Council of Private Enterprise) declares that the government no longer represents plural interests and has become a single-party government run by the fsln. It withdraws from the Council of State. CHRONOLOGY, 1979–1990 | 213 1981 JAN. 20 Ronald Reagan is inaugurated as president of the United States. JAN. 21 Reagan cancels the final payment of $15 million of the $75 million approved by the Carter administration. FEB. 23 The U.S. State Department publishes the ‘‘White Paper’’ about El Salvador, in which Nicaragua is accused of weapons transfer to the Salvadoran guerrillas. MARCH 4 The jgrn is reduced to three members: Daniel Ortega, Sergio Ramírez, and Rafael Córdoba Rivas. MARCH 8 The United States announces that it will not give Nicaragua a $9.6 million loan to purchase wheat. MARCH 19 The North American press reports on the existence of Nicaraguan counterrevolutionary training camps in Florida. APRIL 25 The National Union of Farmers and Ranchers (unag) is established . It is composed of small and midsized agricultural producers. MAY 26 The first shipment of wheat from the Soviet Union arrives in Nicaragua. AUG. 19 The revolutionary government decrees state appropriation of abandoned property (Absentee Law). The Agrarian Reform Law is approved, which expropriates abandoned, idle, or underused lands. SEPT. 9 A State of Economic and Social Emergency is declared for one year. SEPT. 12 The Agricultural Cooperative Law is enacted. NOV. 6 The United States exerts pressure to block loans from the idb (Inter-American Development Bank) to Nicaragua. 1982 JAN. 19 The United States vetoes an idb loan for $500,000 to Nicaragua. FEB. 7 Seventy thousand health brigade volunteers participate in the massive campaign against poliomyelitis. FEB. 11 The Social Security Law is enacted. FEB. 14 The United States press media reveal that President Reagan has approved a plan for covert operations against Nicaragua, which...