Anarchism in Nicaragua emerged during theUnited States occupation of Nicaragua, when the workers' movement was first organized against the interests of foreign capital. This led to a synthesis of Latin American anarchism with the goals ofnational liberation, which influenced the early Sandinista movement.
In 1918, several of Nicaragua'smutual societies came together to found the Federación Obrera Nicaragüense.[1] Until then, theConservative andLiberal parties were primarily in control of the country's trade unions. Although no majoranarcho-syndicalist unions were established in the country, in 1919, foreign libertarians were active in the stevedore strikes inCorinto.[citation needed]
Militant workers formed the Grupo Socialista and published a newspaperEl Socialista, which criticized intellectual opportunism in the Federación.[2] Although the group displayed militant tendencies, it was largely made up ofreformists andsocial democrats.[3]Salomón de la Selva attempted to integrate the Federación Obrera Nicarangüense into theAFL-affiliated Confederación Obrera Panamericana. Although Sofonías Salvatierra was critical of such a relationship with American trade unionism, he was ultimately opposed to revolutionary internationalism.[4]
The Nicaraguan revolutionary leaderAugusto Sandino developed a sympathy for anarchism during his time in theMexican Revolution. After meeting some Spanish anarchists, he even adopted their red and black colours for the design of his own flag. According to Sandino, “only the workers and peasants will go all the way, only their organized force will attain victory” for the social revolution.[5] Upon returning to Nicaragua, Sandino actively fought against theUnited States occupation, eventually forcing their withdrawal.[6]
After the assassination of Sandino,Anastasio Somoza García seized power from theelected government ofJuan Bautista Sacasa and established aright-wing dictatorship. The workers' movement was suppressed by theNationalist Liberal government, until theNicaraguan Revolution finally overthrewSomoza regime. Wide-scale social reforms were implemented throughout the country, including theredistribution of land,vaccination campaigns,free healthcare and literacy campaigns which reducedilliteracy from 80 percent to 12 percent. But after the2006 re-election ofDaniel Ortega, risingauthoritarianism andpolitical corruption in the country, anarchists and other Sandinistas began to turn against theFSLN government. This culminated in the2018–2020 Nicaraguan protests, in which anarchists have participated.[7][8]
