Involvement of Nicaragua
The US government refused to recognize the Sandinista regime's legitimacy to represent Nicaragua in The Esquipulas Process, on the basis that the Sandinistas had taken power in a 1979 coup d'etat against the dictator Anastasio Somoza Debayle, establishing the Junta of National Reconstruction. Although in 1984 the Sandinistas held a fair and free election, in which they won the majority of the votes, the main opposition parties boycotted this election under US pressure, and the US was able to claim that the victory was illegitimate. However the June 1986 outcome of the International Court of Justice case Nicaragua v. United States created a "major shift in the regional context" which ultimately persuaded the other Central American leaders to accept Nicaragua as an equal partner. "Suddenly, Nicaragua, which had been treated like an outcast on more than one occasion, was walking the legal, if not moral, high-ground..." The November 1986 disclosure of the Iran–Contra affair further weakened the US influence on the process.
Read more about this topic: Esquipulas Peace Agreement
Famous quotes containing the word involvement:
“Many people now believe that if fathers are more involved in raising children than they were, children and sons in particular will learn that men can be warm and supportive of others as well as be high achievers. Thus, fathers’ involvement may be beneficial not because it will help support traditional male roles, but because it will help break them down.”
—Joseph H. Pleck (20th century)