José María Moncada

Background

For many years, conflict brewed between the Liberal and Conservative Parties in Nicaragua. The Liberal Party, which “advocated manhood suffrage, separation of Church and State, and the advancement of the material wealth of the country”,^[2] held power between 1893 and 1909 under the control of President José Santos Zelaya. In 1909, the Conservative Party launched a US-supported revolution, with most Americans “aid[ing] the revolutionary party because of Zelaya’s oppressive acts” and a “[desire] to see the concessions cancelled so that they could get in on the lands and make ‘denouncements’ for mining and agricultural purposes’”.^[3] Further American intervention led to the deployment of US troops in Nicaragua from 1909-1933, with a brief exception during 1925 that set the stage for the Nicaraguan Civil War.

Actions Before and After Nicaraguan Civil War (1926-1927)

The U.S. Marines withdrew their forces from Nicaragua in 1925, prompting General Emiliano Chamorro to rise “in rebellion against a new regime”.^[4] He successfully installed himself as president, but the United States refused to recognize his regime. Although Chamorro offered to resign in favor of a designated successor, the U.S. State Department “insisted upon the selection of its favorite, Adolfo Díaz, as provisional president”.^[5] Former President Adolfo Díaz assumed the presidency after Chamorro’s resignation, spurring several Liberal leaders, including José María Moncada to rebel. In response, the United States sent troops in 1926 to force an armistice and eventual resolution to the conflict. Emiliano Chamorro and José María Moncada agreed to the armistice, but “the peace talks failed because of the refusal of the Liberals to accept a compromise government”.^[6]

Incensed by the collaboration between the Conservative Party’s leadership and the US government, Moncada refused to recognize the new Díaz government. On December 1, 1926, he initiated a new Liberal offensive at Puerto Cabezas. The U.S. responded by “creating six neutral zones along the east coast, [expelling] the Liberal government from Puerto Cabezas, and dumping Liberal munitions into the harbor”.^[7] Augusto Sandino, an ally of the Liberal Party, proposed the creation of a revolutionary force that would continue the struggle against the U.S.-Conservative coalition. He was unable to impress José María Moncada, who was “reluctant to turn over precious arms and munitions to [an] unknown guerrilla”.^[8] Despite rejection by the Liberal leadership, “the rank and file among the Liberals were more sympathetic”^[9] and Sandino would go on to establish a revolutionary force after the compromise between the Liberal and Conservative Parties.

By 1928, US Secretary of State Henry Stimson had become involved in the conflict. The American public was growing weary of the presence of US Marines in Nicaragua and the US government was looking for ways to quickly withdraw its forces. Given the Liberal Party’s inability to achieve electoral victories under the previous system, Stimson approached Moncada “with a plan designed to permit Liberal success at the polls”.^[10] Moncada accepted, telling Stimson that “while there will probably be resistance by small irreconcilable groups and scattered bandits, [he believed] that there will be no organized resistance to our action”.^[11] Eleven of the twelve lieutenants under Moncada accepted Stimson’s plan. Only Augusto Sandino and his forces refused. They retreated “into Nicaragua’s rugged northwest”^[12] and "attacked a much smaller group of marines and constabulary at Ocotal".^[13]

Despite this complication, the plan to hold free elections was implemented and the “US Marines supervised the registration and voting procedures”.^[14] Nicaraguans were provided the opportunity to vote and, after the Liberal Party’s electoral victory, “José María Moncada was installed as Nicaragua’s president”.^[15]

Moncada’s victory surprised many Nicaraguans since his opponent, Adolfo Díaz of the Conservative Party, was a close ally of the US who “owed [it] his entire political career”.^[16] His victory, however, had been assured “by the settlement imposed by President Coolidge’s special emissary Henry Stimson to end the brief civil war between Conservatives and Liberals in 1927”.^[17] The Liberal Party, which had been denied power through electoral victories, had planned an uprising, “hoping to drag the United States into the fray".^[18] Stimson’s negotiations recognized that the Liberals would not accept anything less than success and, in order to reach a quick result that would allow the US to leave Nicaragua, assisted his victory. Sandino’s violent response to the election of Moncada, however, ensured that US Marines would remain in the country for the foreseeable future since the “1927 Stimson ultimatum had disbanded Nicaragua’s partisan armed forces”.^[19] To create a force that could maintain stability in Nicaragua, the United States created the Nicaraguan National Guard and “provided it with arms and training, while at the same time continuing the fight against Sandino’s rebels”.^[20]

Moncada asked the US for assistance in stabilizing the country throughout his presidency. The 1929 Stock Market Crash increased President Herbert Hoover’s “desire to remove the remaining US troops from Nicaragua”.^[21] Despite President Hoover's reluctance to intervene in Nicaragua, Moncada succeeded in requesting that “the United States supervise Nicaragua’s 1930 non-presidential elections”^[22] and securing enough money from President Hoover in 1932 to “chair half the election boards”,^[23] thus ensuring that Juan Sacasa, another Liberal politician, would win the 1932 election.