Nationalist Liberal Party

The Nationalist Liberal Party (Spanish: Partido Liberal Nacionalista, PLN) was a political party in Nicaragua.

Nationalist Liberal Party Partido Liberal Nacionalista
Abbreviation	PLN
President	Anastasio Somoza García (first) Anastasio Somoza Debayle (last)
Founder	Anastasio Somoza García
Founded	1928 (1928)
Dissolved	July 20, 1979 (1979-07-20)
Preceded by	Liberal Party
Headquarters	Managua
Ideology	Nominal: Liberalism De facto: Authoritarianism National conservatism Personalism Somocismo
Political position	Right-wing to far-right
Colors	Red and Blue
Party flag
Politics of Nicaragua Political parties Elections

When Anastasio Somoza García took power in 1936, the party aligned itself with the United States and other caudillos in Latin America, like Rafael Trujillo, Oswaldo López Arellano, and Fulgencio Batista.

From 1936 to 1979, the office of President of Nicaragua was held by members of the Nationalist Liberal Party. When the first phase of the Nicaraguan Revolution was won by the FSLN, the PLN was dissolved by the new government. Many Somoza loyalists later supported or joined Contras rebel groups.

History of the party

Whilst initially it still featured a liberal agenda (the Liberals having been one of the two main parties of Nicaragua since the 19th century along with the Conservatives), the Nationalist Liberal Party later developed into little more than a political vehicle for the kleptocracy of the Somoza clan.

The party suffered several splits: in 1944, opposing Anastasio Somoza García's intentions to re-run for the presidency, dissident party members such as Manuel Cordero Reyes, Roberto González Dubón, Carlos Morales, Gerónimo Ramírez Brown (minister of public education from 1939 to 1944) and Carlos Pasos formed the new Independent Liberal Party, that functioned for decades to come as a legal, centrist opposition party and briefly sided with the Sandinistas to overthrow Somoza Debayle and cement the victory of the Nicaraguan Revolution. In 1968, another group of members, led by Ramiro Sacasa Guerrero (former minister for labor), split from the Nationalist Liberal Party, disagreeing with Anastasio Somoza Debayle's ambition to re-run. They formed the Constitutionalist Liberal Movement, which later evolved into the Constitutionalist Liberal Party.

The party was banned after the FSLN takeover in 1979.

Notable members

• José María Moncada
• Juan Bautista Sacasa
• Anastasio Somoza García
• Luis Somoza Debayle
• Anastasio Somoza Debayle
• Leonardo Argüello Barreto
• Benjamín Lacayo Sacasa
• Víctor Manuel Román y Reyes
• René Schick
• Orlando Montenegro Medrano
• Francisco Urcuyo
• Lorenzo Guerrero

Electoral history

Presidential elections

Election	Party candidate	Votes	%	Result
1936	Anastasio Somoza García	112,812	99.83%	Elected Y
1947	Leonardo Argüello Barreto	104,804	61.76%	Elected Y
1950	Anastasio Somoza García	153,297	75.63%	Elected Y
1957	Luis Somoza Debayle	316,998	89.25%	Elected Y
1963	René Schick	408,131	90.48%	Elected Y
1967	Anastasio Somoza Debayle	380,162	70.30%	Elected Y
1974		733,662	91.71%	Elected Y

National Assembly elections

Election	Party leader	Votes	%	Seats	+/–	Position
1936	Anastasio Somoza García	112,812	99.83%	30 / 43	7	1st
1947	Leonardo Argüello Barreto	104,804	61.76%	24 / 43	6	1st
1950	Anastasio Somoza García	153,297	75.63%	28 / 42	4	1st
1957	Luis Somoza Debayle	316,998	89.25%	28 / 42		1st
1963	René Schick	408,131	90.48%	28 / 42		1st
1967	Anastasio Somoza Debayle	380,162	70.30	35 / 52	7	1st
1972		534,171	75.33%	60 / 100	25	1st
1974		733,662	91.71%	42 / 70	18	1st

See also

• Nicaraguan Revolution
• Somoza family
• Contras