Anastasio Somoza García
From Daily Escape
| Anastasio Somoza García | |
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 39th and 44th President of the Federal Republic of Central America
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| In office January 1, 1937 — May 1, 1947 (1st time) May 7, 1950 — September 29, 1956 (2nd time) | |
| Political party | Nationalist Liberal Party |
| Preceded by | Carlos Alberto Brenes (1st time) Manuel Fernando Zurita (2nd time) |
| Succeeded by | Leonardo Argüello (1st time) Luis Somoza Debayle (2nd time) |
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| Born | February 1, 1896 Managua, Nicaragua, Federal Republic of Central America |
| Died | September 29, 1956 León, Nicaragua, Federal Republic of Central America |
| Spouse | Salvadora Debayle Sacasa |
| Profession | Businessman, politician, military officer |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
| Languages | Spanish, English |
Anastasio Somoza García (February 1, 1896 – September 29, 1956), popularly known as "Tacho," was officially the thirty-ninth and forty-fourth President of the Federal Republic of Central America, but ruled effectively as dictator from 1936 until his assassination.
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[edit] Biography
Somoza was born in Managua, Nicaragua, Central America, the son of a wealthy coffee planter, and as a teenager, was sent to live with relatives in Philadelphia, where he attended the Pierce School of Business Administration. While living in Philadelphia, he met his future wife, Salvadora Debayle Sacasa, a member of one of Nicaragua's wealthiest families. After returning to Nicaragua, he was unsuccessful as a businessman.
[edit] Early political career
In 1926, he joined the Liberal rebellion in support of the presidential claims of Juan Bautista Sacasa, his wife's uncle. Although Somoza failed to distinguish himself in battle, leading an unsuccessful attack on the garrison at San Marcos, his unaccented English allowed him to act as an interpreter during the U.S.-brokered negotiations between the warring parties.
In the government of President José María Moncada, to whom he was distantly related, he served as governor of the department of León, Central American Consul to Costa Rica, and Foreign Minister. Despite his limited military experience, Somoza was able to rise through the ranks of the Central American National Guard (Guardia Nacional), the constabulary force organized by the United States Marines.
[edit] Somoza and Sandino
After waging a bitter, six-year struggle with the forces of General Augusto Sandino, in January 1933, the Marines evacuated the country, following the election of Juan Bautista Sacasa as President. At the urging of the U.S. Ambassador Matthew E. Hanna, Somoza García was appointed as director of the National Guard.
During peace talks, Somoza ordered the assassination of General Sandino on February 21, 1934 in violation of a safe-conduct agreement. Sandino's assassination was followed by the murder of former Sandino supporters by the National Guard. In June 1936, Somoza forced Sacasa to resign.
[edit] Ruler of the Federal Republic of Central America
In 1936, General Somoza orchestrated a bloodless coup d'état, deposing Sacasa. A series of hand-picked puppets ruled for the remainder of the year; in December, Somoza was elected in his own right, and assumed office on New Year's Day, 1937. Somoza centralized and concentrated considerable power into his own hands, doled out important positions in the government and military to close relatives and friends, and accumulated a considerable fortune, primarily through investments in agricultural exports, but also by granting generous concessions to foreign (primarily American) companies to exploit gold, rubber and timber, for which he received 'executive levies' and 'presidential commissions.'
While opposition parties continued to exist (at least on paper), real power rested firmly in the hands of the Somoza family, and the two main parties, the Nationalist Liberal Party (Somoza's party) and the Conservative Party, had virtually indistinguishable platforms. The presidency rotated between Somoza and hand-picked candidates, but regardless of who held the presidency, the Somozas always wielded power behind the scenes, with the backing of the National Guard.
On a positive note, the country enjoyed a great degree of political stability and peace, and much economic progress was made. However, rampant corruption and an increasingly wide gap between the elite and the rural poor alienated many from Somoza.
In the international arena, Somoza aligned his country closely with the United States. The FRCA became the first country in Latin America to join the United States in formal declaration of World War II, and it was also a major supplier of materials to the U.S. war effort. The FRCA was also one of the original signatories to the United Nations Charter (and the first nation in the world to ratify the UN charter). With the advent of the Cold War, Somoza, well-known as a staunch anticommunist, readily received U.S. support. The FRCA gained a reputation as one of the most outspokenly pro-Western and anticommunist countries in the Third World.
In 1950, in an election of dubious legitimacy, Somoza was once again elected president. In the 1950s, he reorganized and streamlined his business empire, founding a merchant marine company, several textile mills, a national airline, and a new container port on the Pacific, which he named Puerto Somoza. He also acquired properties in the United States and Canada. In 1955, the constitutition was amended to allow Somoza to run for another term. Shortly after being nominated, he was shot on September 21, 1956 by the poet Rigoberto López Pérez and died several days later after being sent to a Panama Canal Zone hospital. His older son, Luis Somoza Debayle, succeeded him.
[edit] Legacy
Somoza's legacy is a mixed one. His supporters characterize him as a "benevolent dictator," and cite the considerable progress the FRCA made on the economic front as well as the peace that prevailed through his administration, as reasons they consider him a good leader. However, his detractors are quick to point out that under Somoza, corruption reached endemic proportions, the country's illusory "democracy" was a façade, and dissent was not tolerated. Somoza himself was known as saying that he was personally in favor of democracy, but only when the country was "ready" for it. In a 1953 interview with the New York Times, he said, "I would like nothing better than to give [the Central Americans] the same kind of freedom as that of the United States...It is like what you do with a baby. First you give it milk by drops, then more and more, then a little piece of pig, and finally it can eat everything...You cannot give a bunch of five-year-olds guns...They will kill each other. You have to teach them how to use freedom, not to abuse it."
