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Jasmine Melendez

Central American History 1821 to Present

Mr. Sampson

20 December 2010

Discussing the Political Challenges of Central America: Caudillismo & Its Effects

With the atrocity of a colonial history, and the economic and political downfalls

characterizing its past, Central America demonstrates a diversified unit of peoples who have

undergone even warfare, and a collective struggling of social stability. Belize, Honduras,

Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Panama and Costa Rica make up Central America; each

country has their own set of political struggles, but it is this exact feature that also, regionally,

makes them one! This isthmoid region has undergone an overwhelming number of religious,

economic, and social battles, but nothing dominates Central American history more than the

political throw-downs that are characterized by the famous battles between the Liberals and the

Conservatives, along with the outstanding dictatorial governments, all of which are the main

sources of revolutionary wars in Central America.

By the end of the 1830s and into the 1840s, politics in many areas coalesced around two

ideological poles, usually known as liberal and conservative. These groupings were not mass-

based political parties in the 20th-century sense but rather factions of the elite; believing the

majority of society to be ill-prepared for democracy, both liberals and conservatives intended to

construct governments for the people but not by the people (“Central America”). Nonetheless, at

times groups of artisans or peasant villagers took sides in the factional battles, hoping thus to

press their own interests.

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To begin with, on September 15 1821, a council of notables in Guatemala City accepted

the independence plan of the Mexican Creole and military chieftain Agustín de Iturbide; it

resulted in wide differences of opinion among the municipalities. Some leaders favored

independence from Mexico as well as from Spain, and some of the provinces also wanted

independence from Guatemala. This divisive action by the municipalities was a product of their

newly acquired vitality under the constitution, but it also reflected their resentment against

centralized authority in Guatemala (“Latin America”). Conservatives in Guatemala succeeded in

annexing the kingdom to Iturbide's Mexican empire, but this led immediately to civil war, as San

Salvador and Granada refused to accept the decision. Mexican and Guatemalan troops subdued

San Salvador after a long siege, but in the meantime Iturbide's empire collapsed and was

succeeded by a liberal republic that allowed Central America to go its own way.

However, it was rather in the power of militias and individual military leaders that the

militarization of society was most visible. Throughout the region such forces grew to influence

or even head national governments. The military men who rose to positions of dominance were

examples of the caudillo, a figure that epitomized this unstable period (“Political System”).

Often coming to power through the use of violence, these leaders imposed themselves through

the force of their own personalities, their control over armed followers, and their strategic

alliances with elite groups. Some caudillos rose to power from humble beginnings, while others

came from wealthy, landowning sectors and used their dependent workers as the core of their

support. David Bushnell, Emeritus Professor of History at the University of Florida and author of

The Emergence of Latin America in the Nineteenth Century and Simón Bolívar: Liberation and

Disappointment states that the caudillo is “charismatic enough to win the enduring loyalty of his

men and skilled enough to ride or fight better than any of them, they were domineering and
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macho leaders” (“Latin American History”). Whatever their social origins, caudillos in the

postcolonial period became key political actors, working in alliance with, and at times under the

control of, the economically powerful and civilian political leaders of the new nations of Latin

America.

In effect, Francisco Morazán (1792-1842) was a main feature of Central American

politics, who sought to restore the Liberal Federation. In 1827 Morazán led the Liberal Party's

forces in a revolt against Manuel José Arce, first president of the United Provinces (established

in 1823). The Liberal forces defeated the Conservative army in 1829 at Guatemala City, the

capital, and in 1830 Morazán was elected president. He introduced many reforms designed to

limit the power of the Roman Catholic Church, but his administration aroused the anger of

Conservatives and he had to devote most of his energy to putting down revolts. By 1839, the end

of Morazán's second term, most of the member states had deserted the federation. A

Conservative-backed rebel army under Rafael Carrera defeated Morazán at Guatemala City in

March 1840, and he went into exile. In 1842 he returned to attempt the restoration of the

federation. He attacked and defeated the forces of the Costa Rican dictator Braulio Carillo, but,

when he tried to follow up this triumph, his forces were quickly routed. Betrayed and captured,

Morazán was executed by a firing squad (“Morazán”).

Also of great notice is the chieftain and dictator of Guatemala, Rafael Carrera (1814-

1865), one of the most powerful figures of 19th-century Central America. As a conservative, who

was partly responsible for disintegrating the United Provinces, Carrera led a successful revolt

against Liberals. He was deeply religious, a strong nationalist, and a committed conservative.

Carrera consolidated his rule in 1840 when he became dictator and took Guatemala out of the

United Provinces of Central America, proclaiming it an independent republic (Bradford 25).

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Recalling the Jesuits, he reestablished the Roman Catholic Church in 1852. In 1854 he abolished

elections and became president for life. Carrera intruded frequently into the affairs of

neighboring nations in behalf of their conservative forces. He captured Guatemala City in 1838

and took power, which he exercised completely and ruthlessly until his death (“Carrera”).

Also making headlines in Nicaraguan dictatorship was the famous Cesar Augusto

Sandino, who was a Nicaraguan guerrilla leader, and one of the most controversial figures of

20th-century Central American history. In Nicaragua he became a popular hero and gave his

name to the Sandinistas, a revolutionary group that formed the government from 1979 to

1990.Sandino first gained national recognition in 1926, when he took up arms in support of Vice

President Juan Bautista Sacasa's claim to the presidency. Upon the intervention of U.S. Marines

in 1927, Sandino withdrew with several hundred men to the mountains of northern Nicaragua,

and his success in eluding capture by the U.S. forces and the Nicaraguan National Guard

attracted widespread sympathy for him throughout the hemisphere. The resulting anti-American

feeling was partly responsible for President Franklin D. Roosevelt's “Good Neighbor Policy,” an

announced reformulation of U.S. foreign relations with Latin America. Following the withdrawal

of the Marines in January 1933 and the inauguration of Sacasa as president, Sandino was invited

to meet with Anastasio Somoza, the head of the National Guard, for an apparent peace

conference but was abducted and murdered instead by National Guardsmen (Gilbert 86).

During the 20th Century, there arose the third member of the Somoza dynasty, president

of Nicaragua (1967–79) and commander in chief of the armed forces, Anastasio Debayle

Somoza. Anastasio Somoza rose rapidly to power in the Nicaraguan military establishment

during his father's (1933–56) and brother's (1956–63) presidencies. As head of the National

Guard he assisted the United States in the Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba and in the 1965
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Dominican Republic intervention. Somoza was prevented by law from being president directly

after his brother, so in the intervening years (1963–67) until he could run, Nicaragua was ruled

by puppets. In 1972, Somoza stepped down from office but with the devastation caused by the

1972 earthquake, he put himself back in power. He was reelected in 1974 after repealing the

constitutional ban on consecutive terms and prohibiting all but the two major parties from

participating in elections. Most of his second term was conducted under martial law, in response

to active opposition to his strong-arm tactics by the Cuban-backed Sandinistas (“Somoza”).

Somoza's administration continued to achieve improvements in agrarian reform, peasant welfare,

economic progress, and foreign relations, but its failure to resolve the problems of unequal

distribution of income and the rebuilding of Managua, which was still a shambles five years after

the 1972 earthquake, caused growing unrest (Brunnegger 45).

A fervent anti-Communist, Somoza, as in the case of his father and brother, had enjoyed

unwavering support from the U.S. government. However, President Jimmy Carter withdrew U.S.

support (which Somoza blamed for his downfall) and the Conservative Party and the Sandinistas

demanded Somoza's resignation. He resigned July 17, 1979. In 1979 Somoza fled before

Sandinista forces and went first to Miami, then The Bahamas, and finally Paraguay, where he

was assassinated in exile in September 1980 (Cox 23).

Particularly in the 1825–50 periods, Central America experienced a high degree of

political instability. National governments changed hands rapidly in most areas, which only

prolonged the weakness and ineffectiveness of the emerging political systems. The Liberal and

the Conservative parties were political forces which dominated Central America during the 20 th

Century. Much of the conflict that characterized these years consisted of simple disputes over
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power. To an extent, the role that violence or the threat of violence played in politics reflected a

militarization brought about by the long period of the wars of independence. Caudillismo was the

result of the breakdown of central authority. After a brief period of constitutional rule, each of

the former Spanish colonies in Central America experienced a collapse of effective national

government. The 20th-century dictatorships in Central American countries have had different

aims. In some cases the very authors of constitutions broke the rules laid out in them to gain or

preserve control over governments. Like any other member of their society, they knew better

than to expect their fellow political actors to stay within the strictures of the law. Extralegal

maneuvers and the use of force became common elements of politics.

Works Cited

Bradford, Burns. Latin America. New York: Putnam, 2005. Print.

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Brunnegger, Sandra. From Conflict to Autonomy in Nicaragua: Lessons Learnt. London:

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“Conservatism.” The Concise Oxford Dictionary. 10th ed. 1999. Print.

Cox, Jack; Somoza, Anastasio; Earle, Peter. Nicaragua Betrayed. Boston: Western Islands, 1980.
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Gilbert, Dennis L.. Sandinistas: The Party And The Revolution. Cambridge: Blackwell
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