1947 Nicaraguan general election

Last updated

General elections were held in Nicaragua on 2 February 1947 to elect a president and National Congress.

Contents

The agreement between the Conservatives and the Independent Liberal Party (PLI), signed on 17 August, pledged both parties to overthrow the dictatorship, guarantee civil liberties, initiate governmental and constitutional reforms, and establish a government that would provide minority representation. [1] Subsequently, the PLI met in a convention in León and ratified the choice of an elderly Liberal, Dr. Enoc Aguado, as the presidential candidate of the two parties. [2] However, as the PLI was not legally recognised, Aguado ran as a candidate of the Conservative Nationalist Party. [3]

The Nationalist Liberal Party convention, in early August, remained deadlocked between Lorenzo Guerrero and Alejandro Abaunza. Somoza "engineered another master stroke by arranging the nomination of seventy-one-year-old Leonardo Argüello Barreto, who combined the dual advantages of a 'big name' Liberal likely to attract support from the Independent Liberals. His malleability, lack of vigor, and reported feeble health made Somoza's indirect 'continuismo' probable." [4]

The Communists made the most of the opportunity to function without government interference. By December, 1946, they claimed 1500 members and the support of 25 percent of the electorate. Since Somoza relied considerably on the Nicaraguan Socialist Party for support, the Communists began to press him for influence within the government. They wanted government jobs, and even put in a bid for seats in Congress. However, Somoza resisted this pressure. At the same time the opposition, which was preparing for the elections of 1947, also sought the Communists' support. It offered to name six Communists on its ticket for members of the Chamber of Deputies. In the end the Communists threw their support to the opposition candidate, Enoc Aguado. [5]

The 23 February elections were free of violence, but not government-inspired fraud, which enabled Leonardo Argüello Barreto to win by 39,900 votes. The official count also gave the Nationalist Liberal Party control of the legislature and judiciary. [6] Leonardo Argüello Barreto took office on 1 May.

"Once in office, Leonardo Argüello Barreto proceeded to effect changes in personnel, moves that sought to undermine Somoza's hold on the bureaucracy and the Guardia Nacional. Argüello also wanted to demilitarize those public services that Somoza had put under Guardia control during the war years, such as the public health service, the customs, the communications network, and the railroad itself. The breaking point between the two men came when the Congress, firmly under Somoza's control, proceeded to appoint the three 'designados a la presidencia,' who would be directly in line to replace the president should he leave office. Needless to say, the three so named were Somocistas. On 25 May, Argüello informed Somoza that he was to leave the country and that his resignation as Jefe Director would be announced immediately afterward. Somoza apparently agreed to go but asked for a few days to arrange his affairs. That was more than enough time for him to organize the overthrow of Argüello, which came in the early morning hours of the following day. Argüello refused to resign as president but finally agreed to go to the Mexican embassy as an exile." [7]

Results

PartyCandidateVotes%
Nationalist Liberal Party Leonardo Argüello Barreto 96,73157.00
Conservative Nationalist Party Leonardo Argüello Barreto 8,0734.76
Conservative Nationalist Party Enoc Aguado 64,90438.24
Total169,708100.00
Source: Nohlen

    Related Research Articles

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Anastasio Somoza Debayle</span> President of Nicaragua (1967–72, 1974–79)

    Anastasio "Tachito" Somoza Debayle was the President of Nicaragua from 1 May 1967 to 1 May 1972 and from 1 December 1974 to 17 July 1979. As head of the National Guard, he was de facto ruler of the country between 1972 and 1974, even during the period when he was not the de jure ruler.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Somoza family</span> Ruling family of Nicaragua from 1936 to 1979

    The Somoza family is a former political family that ruled Nicaragua for forty-three years from 1936 to 1979. Their family dictatorship was founded by Anastasio Somoza García and was continued by his two sons Luis Somoza Debayle and Anastasio Somoza Debayle. Anastasio Somoza García was the President of Nicaragua from 1937 until 1956. He was succeeded by his eldest son, Luis Somoza Debayle, who held the presidency from 1957 to 1963. The youngest Somoza son, Anastasio Somoza Debayle, held two presidential terms: 1967-1972 and 1974-1979. Although the Somozas did not hold the presidency for the full forty-three years, they continued to rule through puppet presidents and their control of the National Guard.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Anastasio Somoza García</span> Former President of Nicaragua (1896–1956)

    Anastasio Somoza García was the leader of Nicaragua from 1937 until his assassination in 1956. He was only officially the 21st President of Nicaragua from 1 January 1937 to 1 May 1947 and from 21 May 1950 until his assassination on 29 September 1956, ruling for the rest of the time as an unelected military strongman. He was the patriarch of the Somoza family, which ruled Nicaragua as a family dictatorship for 42 years.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Constitutionalist Liberal Party</span> Political party in Nicaragua

    The Constitutionalist Liberal Party is a political party in Nicaragua. At the Nicaraguan general election of 5 November 2006, the party won 25 of 92 seats in the National Assembly. However, the party suffered a devastating loss in the 2011 general election, losing 23 seats in the National Assembly.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Nicaraguan Socialist Party</span> Political party in Nicaragua

    The Nicaraguan Socialist Party is a political party in Nicaragua. Founded in July 1944 by Dr. Mario Flores Ortiz. PSN operated as the official communist party in the country. At the time of its foundation, PSN supported the regime of Anastasio Somoza García. PSN considered that Somoza was an anti-fascist ally.

    Pedro Joaquín Chamorro Cardenal was a Nicaraguan journalist and publisher. He was the editor of La Prensa, the only significant opposition newspaper to the long rule of the Somoza family. He is a 1977 laureate of the Maria Moors Cabot Prize of Columbia University in New York. He married Violeta Barrios de Chamorro, who later went on to become President of Nicaragua (1990-1997). In 1978, he was shot to death, one of the precipitating events of the overthrow of the Somoza regime the following year.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Roberto Sacasa</span> Nicaraguan politician and president (1840–1896)

    Roberto Sacasa Sarria was the President of Nicaragua from 5 August 1889 to 1 January 1891 and again from 1 March 1891 to 11 July 1893.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Juan Bautista Sacasa</span>

    Juan Bautista Sacasa was the President of Nicaragua from 1 January 1933 to 9 June 1936. He was the eldest son of Roberto Sacasa and Ángela Sacasa Cuadra, the former's cousin twice removed. He was a relative of Benjamín Sacasa.

    Leonardo Argüello Barreto was a Nicaraguan politician who, after several attempts, became the President of Nicaragua in 1947. He served from 1 May to 27 May 1947. His older brother was the noted poet Santiago Arguello Barreto.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Independent Liberal Party (Nicaragua)</span> Political party in Nicaragua

    The Independent Liberal Party is a Nicaraguan political party, which separated from Somoza's Nationalist Liberal Party (PLN) in 1944 and took part in the probably fraudulent election of 1947, won by Somoza's favored candidate. The PLI participated in the 1984 election, winning 9.6% of vote for President with its candidate Virgilio Godoy. In 1990 it was part of the National Opposition Union (UNO) - a broad alliance of Sandinista regime opponents - with Virgilio Godoy running as the vice-presidential candidate. UNO won the elections with 54% of the vote. The UNO alliance split in 1993, and in the 1996 elections the PLI, under the candidature of Virgilio Godoy, suffered its worst electoral debacle, receiving only 0.32% of the vote. It joined with Enrique Bolaños' PLC for the 2001 elections, and was part of Montealegre's Nicaraguan Liberal Alliance in the 2006 elections.

    The Liberal-Conservative Junta officially ruled Nicaragua between 1972 and 1974, though effective power was in the hands of strongman Anastasio Somoza.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">National Opposition Union (1966)</span>

    The 1966 National Opposition Union was a Nicaraguan political coalition founded on October 24, 1966, by the Conservative Party (PC), the Social Christian Party (PSC) and the Independent Liberal Party (PLI) to challenge the candidacy of Anastasio Somoza Debayle in the 1967 Nicaraguan general election. The UNO nominated Fernando Agüero as their candidate.

    General elections were held in Nicaragua to elect a president and National Congress of Nicaragua on 21 May 1950.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">1947 Nicaraguan Constitutional Assembly election</span>

    Constitutional Assembly elections were held in Nicaragua on 3 August 1947.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">1947 Nicaraguan presidential election</span>

    Presidential elections were held in Nicaragua on 15 August 1947.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">1936 Nicaraguan general election</span>

    General elections were held in Nicaragua on 8 December 1936 to elect a President, half of the Deputies and one-third of the Senators of the National Congress.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">1938 Nicaraguan Constitutional Assembly election</span>

    Constitutional Assembly elections were held in Nicaragua on 6 November 1938.

    The elections held on 6 November 1938 were even more of a sham than those that named Anastasio Somoza García president in 1936. The Conservatives decided to abstain again, while the ballot boxes and ballots were distributed throughout the country by the quartermaster general of the Guardia Nacional. The final results were made available within twenty-four hours. In 1938 the Genuino Conservatives decided to field candidates for the Constituent Assembly although the Conservative party’s leadership vehemently opposed the plan.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">1932 Nicaraguan general election</span>

    General elections were held in Nicaragua on 6 November 1932 to elect a President, half of the seats in the Chamber of Deputies and one-third of the seats in the Senate of the National Congress.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Nationalist Liberal Party</span> Political party in Nicaragua

    The Nationalist Liberal Party was a political party in Nicaragua.

    References

    1. ↑ Leonard, Thomas M. The United States and Central America, 1944-1949. Tuscaloosa: The University of Alabama Press. 1984. Pp. 134.
    2. ↑ Walter, Knut. 1993. The regime of Anastasio Somoza, 1936-1956. Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina. Pp. 154.
    3. ↑ Elections in the Americas : a data handbook / ed. by Dieter Nohlen, Vol. 1. [Oxford] [u.a.] : Oxford Univ. Press, 2005. Pp.500.
    4. ↑ Leonard, Thomas M. The United States and Central America, 1944-1949. Tuscaloosa: The University of Alabama Press. 1984. Pp. 138.
    5. ↑ Alexander, Robert J. Communism in Latin America. New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press. 1957. Pp. 381.
    6. ↑ Leonard, Thomas M. The United States and Central America, 1944-1949. Tuscaloosa: The University of Alabama Press. 1984. Pp. 143.
    7. ↑ Walter, Knut. 1993. The regime of Anastasio Somoza, 1936-1956. Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina. Pp. 160.

    Bibliography

    This page is based on this Wikipedia article
    Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
    Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.