In the 1960s and 1970s, the Somoza family political dynasty ruled over Nicaragua as a dictatorship that left citizens exhausted and fearful due to political corruption and an increasing social inequality caused by economic developments. Fed up with this dictatorship, civilians and guerrillas gathered to form the leftist Sandinista National Liberation Front (Frente Sandinista de Liberacion nacional-FSLN) which decided to stage a revolution against the Somoza dynasty. They were able to successfully overthrow the dictatorship in 1979, but in the process of overthrowing this dictator there was othering of their fellow countrymen. Through examining revolutions such as this one, we can see just how events such as bombings, killings, kidnappings, and other human rights violations can occur amongst individuals in the same community.
To start, the Sandinista perspective. From their perspective, the National Guard were purely followers of the Somoza dictator, who at the time was Anastasio Somoza Debayle. The National Guard is often characterized by their cruel behavior during the war, such as bombing Nicaraguan cities and public executions. It should come as no surprise, then, that the Sandinistas' dehumanization of the National Guard was likely driven by desperation and a sense of righteousness. Even as they firebombed their fellow countrymen or used whatever weapons they could to ambush them through guerrilla warfare, they could justify their actions by focusing on their fight for independence over the crimes they had to commit to achieve their goals.
Meanwhile, the National Guard and the United States, which was supporting the Somoza dynasty, wanted others to perceive the rebels as “dangerous communists” who were set on causing disorder in Nicaragua. One way they did so was by turning the very symbol of hope for the Sandinistas, the picture of the Molotov Man, into a symbol of aggression. In the United States particularly, we can observe an obvious bias towards the Somoza dynasty and the National Guard’s view of the FSLN. Though they brought leaders from the Somoza and Sandinista factions to discuss the conflict for coverage of the Nicaraguan revolution, they were far from neutral in which side they chose to cover more often. For example, they did broadcasts solely interviewing figures such as Anastasio Somoza and his perspective of the revolution without refuting his claims or addressing his attempts at downplaying the revolutionaries. In this way, Americans were told about the Nicaraguan revolution and the Sandinista National Liberation Front from a biased perspective where misinformation was allowed to spread and develop into negative perceptions of the Sandinista party.
Suffice to say, both sides had a sense of righteousness that allowed them to dehumanize the other party. The Sandinista rebels believed that they were doing what was best for the country just as much as the National Guard did, and to achieve their goals they resulted to dehumanizing their fellow countrymen to be able to do morally questionable things. Furthermore, both were exploited by the government in ways that have caused lasting damage both before, during, and after the revolution, whether it be due to loss, regret, disappointment, or anything else in between.
To summarize, this essay examines the ways in which conflict causes dehumanization and othering between a community that is undergoing a conflict. I examined the Nicaraguan Revolution in particular because of the variety of documents and photographs that can be used to observe othering between the Sandinistas and National Guard. Even decades after this revolution, the acts both sides committed remain in the survivors' memories and cannot be undone. Luckily for us, we can learn from conflicts such as these and recognize tactics that authority figures may use to make us dehumanize a group before we do something we can never take back.
Works Cited
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Editors, B. U. (2021). Understanding the Iran-Contra Affairs. Understanding the Iran-Contra affairs - the Iran-Contra Affairs. https://www.brown.edu/Research/Understanding_the_Iran_Contra_Affair/n-sandinistas.php
Editors, P. (2016). The life of an image: “molotov man,” 1979–2009 (2016-41.1-.18). Princeton University. https://artmuseum.princeton.edu/collections/objects/123743#:~:text=%22Molotov%20Man%22%20is%20Meiselas’s%20best,
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Knapp, A. (2021). Nicaraguan Revolution (1978-1990). “Burning with a deadly heat”: Newshour coverage of the Hot Wars of the Cold War. https://americanarchive.org/exhibits/newshour-cold-war/nicaragua
