In a talk to Oberlin students on Nicaragua on Tuesday, Ohio University Professor of Political Science Thomas W. Walker labeled U.S. Policies as “basically flawed” and “not based on the realities [of the countries they concern],” rather they are formed on the opinions of the “ignorant” U.S. public.
Sponsored by the history department, the lecture, entitled “The United States and Nicaragua: From the Sandinista Revolution to the Present,” addressed Nicaragua’s history since the Sandinista Revolution of 1979 to last year’s election, highlighting the many U.S. policies that have adversely affected the economic and political landscape of Nicaragua.
“U.S. policy is not so interested in the economic interest of the developing countries such as Nicaragua; [and they are] based on the dumb stupidity of domestic issues. Even though the citizens [of the U.S.] are not really aware, they say and do the stupidest things,” Walker said. “The [U.S.] government packages everything in too simplistic terms: communism, drugs, and now, terrorism.”
In 1979, Nicaragua’s Marxist Sandinista revolution came about as a response to governmental manipulation and corruption. The Sandinistas planned for social programs for equity of wealth, economic growth and better diplomatic and economic relations with their trading partners. There was no nationalization of economic activity and the revolution, in Walker’s opinion, was “a move for a more just society.”
However, Walker said that “it came at a very unfortunate time —during the 1980 U.S. election — and the Republican national platform condemned it as a Marxist takeover.” Even though Jimmy Carter had an “icy attitude towards the revolution and extended only a frigid hand of correctness to the new government,” the U.S. did send food aid and about $75 million in an aid package. Carter, facing re-election worries, rejected the request to standardize the army’s weaponry, even though the Pentagon had recommended it as the way the U.S. could retain influence with the Sandinistas. That, Walker said, was the first flawed policy that was based on domestic politics alone.
When Ronald Reagan took office, Nicaragua was one “war that he had to win to show that he was not going to accept communism in his own backyard.” Reagan’s administration complained of the arms being sent to the Salvadoran guerillas and U.S. aid was suspended. Even though the State Department certified that the government of Nicaragua had stopped the flow of arms, aid was not reinstated. “Reagan wanted to demonstrate that he would not stand communism.”
Walker insists, though, that the new government was not communist. “The Soviets opposed them, too. Even though Nicaragua was not a threat to the U.S., by 1982 the U.S. counter-revolutionary force had a body of 16,000 and the situation was getting worse. All resources had to be diverted from social and reconstruction programs to defense. By the late 1980s, the U.S. started its propaganda war and Reagan declared a national emergency and cut all trade.” During this time, the election in 1984 brought Daniel Ortega to power.
By 1990, the U.S. counter-war damaged the economy. Neither the World Bank nor the Inter-American Development Bank would help. From 1984 to 1990, there was a 90 percent decline in real incomes.
The U.S. again interfered in the election of 1990, with a $20 million package to the opposition that brought Violeta Chamora to office. The U.S. pressured the new government into withdrawing their complaint of atrocities committed by the U.S. in Nicaragua, cutting their army and reaching a settlement on the property issues.
Corruption and U.S. aid to municipalities brought Arnolda Aleman, who was “phenomenally corrupt,” to power. Thanks to U.S. money, he built a highway that connected only his farms to the Pacific Ocean and diverted U.S. aid to non-governmental organizations. “Even the U.S. was embarrassed by Aleman,” Walker said.
U.S. intervention in Nicaragua is 2001 election was much more aggressive than in previous years. Because in the post-Sept. 11 environment, the U.S. wanted the Liberal party in power, they warned that the Sandinistas were linked to terrorism and the U.S reaction would be “vicious.”
Walker stressed that Nicaragua, a country where “people travel by ox-carts” was no threat to the U.S. to begin with, but that it has been sacrificed entirely for domestic political issues. To the students present at the talk, he stressed the need for more people to get involved, not by joining the U.S. State Department, but rather by becoming involved with the different NGOs involved in Nicaragua. Both his children, who are Oberlin graduates, are involved in such organizations in Central America.
Walker has a long history of involvement with Nicaragua. A prolific writer, he has an extensive list of books and articles he has written and edited on the topic. In 1982, he was a member of the United Presbyterian Church’s Council on Church and Society Task Force on Central America. In 1983, he was founding co-chair of The Latin American Studies Association’s Task Force on Scholarly Relations with Nicaragua. In 1984, 1990 and 1996 he served on international delegations that observed national elections in Nicaragua. He has delivered well over 120 guest lectures at college campuses around the United States, Europe and in Latin America.