24 January 1978
End of Somoza
Poster International Union of Students, 1978
BG D6/720
A national strike started in Nicaragua on 24 January 1978 that would end in the demise of dictator Somoza. By having the leader of the bourgeois opposition Pedro Chamorro killed, Somoza multiplied his adversaries. Not only the workers, but the bourgeoisie and religious leaders turned against him. As a result of the strike and the riots during Chamorro's funeral, a chain reaction of rebellion started and the Sandinista National Liberation Front now took the lead. The Sandinistas were involved in guerilla warfare against Somoza for more than ten years, operating from neighbouring countries. In July 1979 they finally drove away the dictator.
See also:
• Search IISH collections and databases for 'Anastasio Somoza'
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