We are feeling quite at home here in San Juan del Sur. The people are friendly and the streets are so colorful, with an occasional stray chick or two. We make our way to class everyday - a mere 2 block walk from our casa and just down the street from the main square. Our second week of classes continued as the first. John continued with building vocabulary and the structure of the present tense of verbs. I was making my way through a review of various verb tenses but spending most of the time working on comprehension and conversation. Mi maestro was very knowledgeable and we spent a good deal of time talking about politics, both in Nicaragua and the United States, the evolving but continuing energy problem, as well as beisbol - Nicaragua's number one pasttime. Can you believe it is not soccer? I was taken by surprise.
We have noticed that many Nicaraguans are not shy about telling you their opinion about the politics of their country as well as the politics of the United States with regard to how it relates to Central America. Of course each side has its own story, but it is no secret that the residents of SJDS are predominantly Sandinista supporters. The Sandinista National Liberation Front (or FSLN) is a socialist political party in Nicaragua. The party is named after Augusto César Sandino (prominently captured in a mural on a wall facing the central park and across from the church) who led the Nicaraguan resistance against the United States occupation of Nicaragua in 1930's only to be killed by the new regime a year later.
Here's a recap of the political history: Interestingly the U.S's interest in Nicaragua may have begun over the potential development of a canal through Lake Nicaragua and San Juan del Sur as a route through Central America (this was before the Panama Canal was constructed). The U.S. had fallen out of the negotiations, but wanted to prevent other countries from continuing as it had made progress with the plans for the Panama Canal. The U.S had taken a protectionist approach in order to prevent further development Communist leaning regimes. However the Sandinista rebels were determined to oust the U.S troops. Eventually in 1933 the last of the U.S. military left Nicaragua, but in their place was the new government - Guardia Nacional - under the rule of Anastasio Somoza and supported by the U.S. After Sandindo's death the Somoza family ruled until 1979 when the FSNL overthrew the dictatorship. More problems developed with the U.S. and when the U.S. delayed (and cut off) economic aid, Nic looked to other countries for support, like Cuba The U.S. continued efforts to oust the FSNL through direct funding ($19 Million to the CIA in 1981 to train counterrevolutionary army - the Contras). When the Dems took over the reins of the Congress, the funding went underground - later to be uncovered as the Iran-Contra Affair (secret arms sales to Iran with money funneled to aid the Contras) The FSNL held the Presidency from 1985 to 1990. Fast forward to 2006 when former President Daniel Ortega was re-elected President and the residents of SJDS were ecstatic.
And then of course there is the issue of electricity. Fully controlled by a company from Spain, electricity has always been an issue. It was sporadic and unreliable under the prior regime. President Ortega was able to renegotiate the deal and get more reliable electricity - sort of - and the people - at least initially - rejoiced. Today, electricity is unreliable. It is turned off without warning and just as indeterminately it goes back on. It is such a hot topic that an article in the local SJDS paper indicated that if any of the candidates for Reina (queen) of the Festival had spoken about change of the electric company as her hope for the future - she would have instantly won all the votes of the judges. Of course, these 16 year old girls stuck to typical beauty pageant etiquette and talked about world peace, etc.
