Effects of the Cold War in Nicaragua

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The Cold War was a period in history right after WWII ended and it ended in 1991, when the USSR broke apart. The conflict was between two types of governments: the communists and the capitalism (democrats). The USSR represented the communist side, while the U.S. represented the democrats. Both countries had nuclear weapons and did not want to fight each other directly because they didn’t want a Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD), so they fought through other countries, by Proxy Wars. The global tensions in Cold War affected a few countries in a couple of regions, for example Central America. The involvement of the United States aided Nicaragua economically, militarily, and politically.

When Central America got rid of Spanish Colonial rule, they failed to get rid of dictatorship. For more than a century the countries in that region were ruled by dictators, which made it easier for the U.S. to control those countries. However, in 1979, a Nicaraguan revolution group called Sandinista took over the government lead by General Somoza which was very corrupt and did not listen to its citizens. ("Reagan and "Iran-Contra" Affair." BBC News. BBC, 06 May 2004. Web. 13 May 2014). Even though the revolutionaries did not support or promote communism, their actions still frightened and made the U.S. worried. Those actions included replacing the National Guard with their own army and giving away money and land. Ronald Reagan was unhappy about it because these drastics changes in Nicaragua made people from other countries in Central America think about revolutions.

The first superpower to get involved in the countries country was the U.S., because Reagan was afraid that communism would spread across Central America and the U.S., being a democ...

... middle of paper ...

...ntually stop sponsoring the revolutionaries. In return, Nicaragua had free elections and the Sandinistas were voted out and a new president came to power. Nicaragua was finally a free country. In a sense, the United States actually politically helped Nicaragua because without the influence from the United States, Nicaragua would possibly still be a country with dictators. Sandinistas had also made the economy of Nicaragua worse because of their changes, so when the government switched in 1990, it was much better for the economy of the country.

Work Cited

"Sandinistas Are Defeated in Nicaraguan Elections." History.com. A&E Television Networks, n.d. Web. 13 May 2014.

"Reagan and "Iran-Contra" Affair." BBC News. BBC, 06 May 2004. Web. 13 May 2014.

"Iran-Contra Affairs." PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 12 May 2014.

“The Contras” Brown. Brown, n.d. Web. 12 May 2014

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