Violeta Chamorro

Violeta Barrios Torres de Chamorro (Template:IPA; 18 October 1929 – 14 June 2025) was a Nicaraguan politician who served as the president of Nicaragua from 1990 to 1997. She was the country's first female president. Previously, she was a member of the Junta of National Reconstruction (Template:Langx, JGRN) from 1979 to 1980.

Her husband, Pedro Joaquín Chamorro Cardenal, was a journalist with his family's newspaper, La Prensa, which he later inherited. As a result of his anti-government stance, he was often jailed or exiled, forcing Chamorro to spend a decade following him abroad or visiting him in jail. When he was assassinated in 1978, Chamorro took over the newspaper. Pedro's murder strengthened the Nicaraguan Revolution and his image, as wielded by his widow, became a powerful symbol for the opposition forces.

Initially, when the Sandinistas were victorious over Anastasio Somoza Debayle, Chamorro fully supported them. She agreed to become part of the provisional government established under the Junta of National Reconstruction. However, when the Junta began moving in a more radical direction and signed agreements with the Soviet Union, Chamorro resigned on 19 April 1980 and returned to the newspaper.

Under her direction, La Prensa continued to criticize the government and its policies despite threats and government-forced shutdowns. When President Daniel Ortega announced that elections would be held in 1990, Chamorro was selected as the candidate for the opposition group known as the National Opposition Union (Template:Langx, UNO). This 14-party alliance ranged from conservatives and liberals to communists and because of ideological differences had difficulty in devising any political platform other than a promise to end the civil war. Despite polls indicating a victory for the incumbent Sandinista President Ortega, Chamorro won the election on 25 February 1990. Her election helped bring an end to the civil war through reconciliation and the demobilization and disarmament of forces belonging to the opposing factions. She was the first elected female head of state in the Americas. She was also the second woman to be elected in her own right as a head of government in the Americas, after Prime Minister Eugenia Charles of Dominica.

Chamorro was sworn into office on 25 April 1990. Chamorro's leadership covered six years marked by economic strife and social unrest, but she was able to compromise with rivals, maintain a constitutional regime, re-establish international banking relationships, and end the hyperinflation that had plagued the country for several years.

After leaving office on 10 January 1997, Chamorro worked on several international peace initiatives until poor health forced her to retire from public life.

Early life

Violeta Barrios Torres was born on 18 October 1929 in Rivas, a small city near the Nicaraguan border with Costa Rica, to Carlos José Barrios Sacasa and Amalia Torres Hurtado.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="Pallais (1992)">Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name="britannica">Template:Cite web</ref> Her family was wealthy and conservative, and although she was often claimed by the U.S. media to have been of the Nicaraguan aristocracy, in truth, her family had large landholdings and cattle; they were more akin to the cattle barons of the western United States than the "Nicaraguan Gloria Vanderbilt" she was sometimes styled as in the American press.Template:Sfn<ref name=britannica />

She attended primary school at the Sagrado Corazón de Jesús (Sacred Heart of Jesus) school in Rivas and the French school in Granada. Barrios began her secondary education at the Colegio La Inmaculada in Managua<ref name="Pallais (1992)" /> and then transferred to an American boarding school, as her parents wanted her to perfect her English.Template:Sfn She first attended Our Lady of the Lake Catholic High School for Girls in San Antonio, Texas, and then in 1945 moved to Blackstone College for Girls in Virginia.<ref name="Pallais (1992)" /> In June 1947, her father was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer and though he died before she could make it home, she returned to Nicaragua, without graduating in the United States.Template:Sfn

Personal life

Violeta met Pedro Joaquín Chamorro Cardenal in 1949,<ref name="NY Times">Template:Cite news</ref> they married in December 1950; subsequently, they had five children together.<ref name="BBCc722jdrnnewo">Template:Cite news</ref>Template:Efn In 1952, on his father's death, Pedro Joaquín inherited the newspaper La Prensa. He took over publishing and under his direction, the paper became a voice of opposition to the Somoza regime. Chamorro Cardenal was frequently jailed between 1952 and 1957 for the content of the paper and in 1957 led a revolt against Somoza. His actions resulted in his exile to Costa Rica, where Chamorro joined him after settling their children with his mother. Two years were spent in Costa Rica, with Pedro writing against the regime and immediately upon their return he was jailed again. Chamorro's life throughout the 1960s and 1970s was a repetitive cycle of reunions with either her husband or children. She followed him; if he was forced to leave, she left the children with family and traveled to be with him; if he was jailed, she was reunited with the children and visited him.Template:Sfn Chamorro's earnings from a rental property that her mother had given her gave the couple a steady income. When her husband was assassinated on 10 January 1978, she took over control of the newspaper.Template:Sfn She was in Miami at the time of the murder.<ref name="AP-20250615">Template:Cite web</ref>

Over the years, Chamorro's family was split into feuding factions based upon political association. Two of her children, Pedro and Cristiana, worked at La Prensa, although Pedro left Nicaragua in 1984 to join the Contras. Her other children were active Sandinistas; Claudia was ambassador to Costa Rica and Carlos became the editor of the FSLN daily newspaper Barricada.<ref name="BBCc722jdrnnewo"/><ref name="WSJ Obit">Template:Cite news</ref> In spite of the conflicting political views of her children, Chamorro encouraged and hosted family dinners during which she insisted political affiliations were temporarily put aside in the interest of family harmony.Template:Sfn

Sandinista Revolution and Junta of National Reconstruction

The assassination of Chamorro's husband sparked the Sandinista Revolution. His image became a symbol of their cause and when Daniel Ortega led the Sandinista guerrillas triumphantly into Managua in July 1979, Chamorro was with them.<ref name="NY Times" /> A coalition to replace the Somoza regime was formed. Chamorro represented the Democratic Union of Liberation (Template:Langx, UDEL) in the first Junta of National Reconstruction (Template:Langx, JGRN), which also included Ortega for the Sandinista National Liberation Front (Template:Langx, FSLN); Moisés Hassan Morales, of the pro-Sandinista National Patriotic Front (Template:Langx, FPN); Luis Alfonso Robelo Callejas, with the Nicaraguan Democratic Movement (Template:Langx, MDN); and Sergio Ramirez Mercado for the Group of Twelve (Template:Langx).<ref name="CIDOB bio">Template:Cite web</ref> This directorate, which initially promised an independent judiciary, free elections, free enterprise and a free press, was assisted by an 18-member Cabinet and a 33-member Council, whose membership represented a broad spectrum of Nicaraguan society.Template:Sfn After the civil war of 1978–1979 and last-minute transferring of the national treasury to foreign banks by the Somoza regime, the country was devastated, and this facilitated the establishment of a Marxist-style government;Template:Sfn however, the Sandinistas soon began taking over television and radio stations and censoring newspapers.Template:Sfn Following the lead of the Sandinistas' mentor Fidel Castro, Cuban-style Marxism was implemented and Nicaragua increasingly took on the traits of a police state,Template:Sfn in some respects. In others, while the Sandinistas did increase their ties with the Soviet bloc and embraced Marxist philosophy, they announced a non-alignment policy and continued discussions on diplomatic, economic, and military relationships with the United States.Template:Sfn

In February 1980, the FSLN signed several accords with the Soviet Union, causing U.S. president Jimmy Carter, who had initially authorized aid to the Sandinista government, to approve CIA support for the opposition forces.<ref name="Nicaragua and Iran Timeline">Template:Cite web</ref> On 19 April 1980, Chamorro resigned from the Junta<ref name="CIDOB bio" /> in opposition to the Sandinistas' push for control, implementation of a Cuban interpretation of Marx,<ref name="NY Times" /> and failure to keep the commitments made in Puntarenas, Costa Rica, for the establishment of a democracy.<ref name="CIDOB bio" /> Her exit prompted other members of the Junta to resign and join opposition groups that were beginning to form.Template:Sfn She returned to her role as editor of La Prensa, driving it to become both an advocate of free speech and opposition thought.<ref name="NY Times" /> Her support of the Contras caused divisions in her own familyTemplate:Sfn and resulted in La PrensaTemplate:'s offices being temporarily shut down on several occasions.<ref name="CIDOB bio" />Template:Sfn In 1986, following the dissolution of the Junta and his election in November 1984, President Ortega even threatened her personally with a thirty-year prison sentence for treason.Template:Sfn That same year, she won the Louis Lyons Award from the Nieman Foundation at Harvard University; the award citation said that she had "resisted repression and censorship" and remained dedicated to a free press despite threats, redactions and suppression by the government.<ref name="Louis Lyons Award">Template:Cite news</ref>

1990 election

From 1987, a group of 14 political parties began working together in the hope of defeating the Sandinistas in the next election.<ref name="Pallais (1992)" /> By 1989, efforts by Costa Rican President Óscar Arias and other Central American leaders had persuaded Ortega to hold elections. He agreed not only to free elections, but to the monitoring of the process.Template:Sfn The opposition bloc, now calling itself the National Opposition Union (Template:Langx, UNO) agreed upon a formula to select a consensus candidate. After five rounds of voting,<ref name="Pallais (1992)" /> Chamorro was appointed the presidential candidate for UNO.Template:Sfn Her platform primarily consisted of two key promises: ending the civil war and ending mandatory military service.<ref name="Pallais (1992)" /> Other proposals included an amnesty for political prisoners and the adoption of free-market economic policies.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> The campaign also played heavily on her simplicity, her faith, common sense,Template:Sfn and the image of her being the "queen-mother" and the wife of a martyr.<ref name="Pallais (1992)" />

Almost all news outlets reported that Chamorro could not win.<ref name="broke, disorganized, in-fighting" /> She was depicted as rich with no real experience.<ref name="NY Times" /> There were rumors that she received millions from the United States via their embassy and that she was a U.S. lackey;<ref name="Revista Envío">Template:Cite journal</ref> that she was too religious; and that her coalition was too disorganized, had no money, and was plagued by in-fighting.<ref name="broke, disorganized, in-fighting">Template:Cite news</ref> In reality, her humility and provincial roots worked for her;Template:Sfn she had run a family, a business and been part of the original Junta;<ref name="NY Times" /><ref name="CIDOB bio" /> the Sandinistas blocked payment of funds to her from the U.S. while simultaneously claiming she received them;<ref name="delays and more delays" /> and she had long been vocal about her displeasure of U.S. involvement in Nicaragua.Template:Sfn According to Peruvian novelist Mario Vargas Llosa; Humberto Belli, an editor of La Prensa and later minister of education; and other writers such as Edward Sheehan and Shirley Christian who have written about the country, Nicaragua is one of the most religious countries in Latin America.Template:Sfn Chamorro's faith and support for free expression united those who had felt alienated by the Sandinistas.<ref name="Sandinistas lost touch">Template:Cite news</ref> Her chief appeal though was that she promised peace to a country tired of war.Template:Sfn<ref name="Pallais (1992)" /><ref name=Oberdorfer>Template:Cite news</ref> Ortega spent large sums of money,<ref name="broke, disorganized, in-fighting" /> and strutted around like a "macho rooster", as if the election were already won;Template:Sfn he even used a fighting rooster as the symbol of his campaign.Template:Sfn

The United States government was convinced Chamorro could not win without measures to "level the field". The George H. W. Bush administration wanted Congress to waive the prohibition of using National Endowment for Democracy funds to support a candidate and to approve a $9 million aid plan in addition to granting $3 million outright in assistance to UNO. Congress refused, as direct aid to candidates or parties was prohibited by law. Congress finally agreed to the $9 million package, only as per the legal requirements—meaning funds could only be used for election monitoring and observers, drives to increase voter turnout and must be fully disclosed. These funds were earmarked for building voting infrastructure, for vehicles and gasoline, salaries, poll watchers, office equipment, trips abroadTemplate:Sfn to train poll workers and those registering voters,<ref name="$9 million">Template:Cite news</ref> election monitoring teams, and as per the provision of foreign donations, $2 million was paid into the Supreme Electoral Council run by the government. In addition, the CIA covertly paid close to $500,000 (USD) to nearly a hundred Nicaraguans living abroad so they would return home to vote.Template:Sfn The aid package ran into difficulties though: one month before the elections, only $400,000 of the money had been sent and it was deposited in accordance with Nicaraguan law into an account at the government-run Central Bank.<ref name="money not sent">Template:Cite news</ref> The vehicles which were provided for in the aid package arrived in Nicaragua, but due to the customs director's vacation, the vehicles were not cleared, nor were tags issued for their use.<ref name="vehicles stuck in customs">Template:Cite news</ref> Three weeks before the election, UNO officials reportedly had received only around $250,000 and accused Ortega's administration of delaying tactics and taking a share off the top. The government countered that the history of the Iran–Contra affair was a basis for caution and that the US itself was creating delays. Since the United States invasion of Panama had frozen Panama's banking system, a spokesperson for the Central Bank of Nicaragua stated that the Ortega Administration had no access to their funds which were deposited in Panamanian banks.<ref name="delays and more delays">Template:Cite news</ref>

Up to 1990, Nicaragua had lived with forty years of the Somoza dictatorship, through a decade of civil warfare and Sandinista rule,<ref name="Overview of regime">Template:Cite news</ref> and five years of US imposed economic sanctions.<ref name=sanctions>Template:Cite news</ref> Because the election was to be held in the midst of a civil war, it was important both domestically and internationally that the vote was seen to be legitimate. The Esquipulas Peace Agreement which had been brokered by Arias, called for monitoring of elections by the Organization of American States and the United Nations, among other provisions.Template:Sfn The election was the most strictly monitored of any in Latin AmericaTemplate:Sfn and involved 2,578 international observersTemplate:Sfn among them former US president Jimmy Carter; Raúl Alfonsín, former president of Argentina; Alfonso López Michelsen, former president of Colombia; Rodrigo Carazo Odio, former president of Costa Rica, and many Caribbean and US dignitaries.<ref name="The Carter Center">Template:Cite web</ref>

On 25 February 1990, Chamorro won the election with a 54.7% share of the vote, ousting the incumbent Ortega<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=Confidencial>Template:Cite news</ref> to become the first elected woman president in the Americas.Template:SfnTemplate:Efn Her victory came as a surprise to most observers.<ref name="Envio">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="GuardianObit">Template:Cite news</ref> Ortega and his supporters conceded defeat without argument and observers left only a skeleton staff to assist with the handover of power.<ref name=turnover>Template:Cite news</ref> The two-month transition period was characterized by the so-called piñata sandinista, a spate of transfers of expropriated and confiscated property into the hands of the FSLN's members and leaders that became a complicated issue for the incoming administration.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Possible explanations for Chamorro's unexpected win include that the Nicaraguan people were disenchanted with the Ortega government, as economic mismanagement, a US embargo, and increased Contra activities in 1987 had, by 1990, decreased per capita GNI to 20 year lows.<ref>"GNI per capita, Atlas method (current US$) – Nicaragua"</ref> By November 1989, the White House had announced that the US economic embargo against Nicaragua would continue unless Chamorro won.<ref>"Bush Vows to End Embargo if Chamorro Wins", The Washington Post, 9 November 1989</ref> Also, there had been reports of intimidation from the side of the contras,<ref>"The policy of keeping the contras alive ... also has placed in jeopardy the holding of elections by encouraging contra attacks on the electoral process. Thus, while the Bush administration proclaims its support for human rights and free and fair elections in Nicaragua, it persists in sabotaging both." As seen at: "Nicaragua" Human Rights Watch, 1990</ref> with a Canadian observer mission claiming that 42 people were killed by the contras in "election violence" in October 1989.<ref>"U.S. trying to disrupt election in Nicaragua, Canadians report" The Toronto Star, 27 October 1989</ref> This led many commentators to assume that Nicaraguans voted against the Sandinistas out of fear of a continuation of the contra war and economic deprivation.<ref name="Envio" />

Presidency (1990–1997)

Two months after the election, on 25 April 1990, Chamorro was sworn into office. The ceremony, held at the Rigoberto López Pérez Stadium before a crowd of some 20,000, marked the first time in more than five decades that a sitting government had peacefully surrendered power to the opposition. It was also the first time governmental change had been the result of a free election with substantial popular participation.<ref name="Pallais (1992)" />

Social scientists who analyzed the elections concluded that the results were rational in the context that ending the war would also end the psychological threat that the US, which had invaded Panama in December 1989 and had been deeply involved in Nicaragua, might invade the country.<ref name="Pallmeyer (2006)">Template:Cite thesisTemplate:Dead link</ref> Sandinista analysts confirmed these findings, determining that they had lost touch with what their constituency wanted. Marvin Ortega, who had conducted polls prior to the election, conceded that voters did not vote "with their stomachs", even though the economic situation was dire, but voted against war and the repression of their liberties.<ref name="Sandinistas lost touch" />

Peace reforms

Cement-covered AK-47s held by unknown boy in Chamorro's Peace Park in central Managua

Chamorro's peace reforms are perhaps her most enduring legacy.<ref name="women presidents" />Template:Sfn<ref name="primarily known for peace">Template:Cite news</ref> Most noteworthy was her official declaration of the end of the war, as it was the pivot upon which all of her other policies depended.Template:Sfn She maintained peace by reducing the size and power of the military, ending the national draft, and demobilizing the military.Template:Sfn The day she took office, she abolished military conscription and within a few weeks had reduced the size of the Sandinista government's army by half to three-quarters.<ref name="WSJ Obit"/><ref name="War's End">Template:Cite news</ref> Demobilization included disbanding<ref name="Contras disband">Template:Cite news</ref> the US-backed Contras, thereby leaving the Sandinistas with no one to fight, and creating a highly effective peace.Template:Sfn Chamorro also granted unconditional amnesties for political crimes, resulting in little room for protest from the Sandinistas, and enabling a smooth transition of power.Template:Sfn One of the ways she secured the co-operation of the Contras was to seek help openly from local officials in collecting weapons from both sides of the conflict.<ref name="War's End" /> She began a fierce weapon-buying campaign to help eradicate the threat of continuing violence; all the collected weapons were covered in concrete at the Plaza de la Paz (Peace Square), specifically built in downtown Managua to symbolize "Never Again".Template:Sfn

Cement-covered tank in Chamorro's Peace Park (Parque de la Paz) symbolizing the wish of Nicaraguans that their country "never again" be plagued by such violence.

The downside of demobilization was that around 70,000 military personnel were left unemployed. Most of the conscripts returned home, but the lives of career military personnel were disrupted as they lost employment, and the houses, land, and money which was promised to them was either not delivered, due to inadequate resources, or seemed to be paid arbitrarily. Since only 5.8% of the former officers had received benefits by early 1992, many believed that only those who had political favor had either kept their jobs, in the 14% of the military that was retained, or received their promised compensation. Between April and December 1992, veterans held a series of strikes in protest of the situation. Pockets of army veterans ("recompas") and resistance veterans ("recontras") threatened to re-arm but, realizing they had the same issues, the two sides joined forces. To pacify the groups,<ref name="Rocha (2010)">Template:Cite journal</ref> Chamorro integrated some of the former Contra fighters into the rural police services; she established a Civil Inspectorate to investigate claims of police abuses and human rights violations.<ref name=Refworld>Template:Cite web</ref> She also allowed the Sandinistas' agrarian reform movement's redistribution of land to be maintainedTemplate:Sfn and expanded it on the Caribbean coast to meet veterans' demands. That action created conflict with the Caribbean indigenous people who had claims to the land, and also infringed on forestry reserves, leading to criticism.<ref name="Rocha (2010)" /> Others who had received land from the Sandinistas began to return their co-operative land titles to the large landholders who had owned them before the reforms, or simply sold their portions to opportunists. Unable to solve the problem, Chamorro dealt with the most egregious claims and turned the issue over to the courts to resolve individual disputes.Template:Sfn

From the outset, Chamarro performed a delicate balancing act. Her choice to lead the National Assembly, Alfredo César, was rejected by the UNO vote, which chose Miriam Argüello. Chamorro kept her word to accept the vote. Her Vice President-elect Virgilio Godoy was in favor of hard-line policies to exclude the Sandinistas,<ref name="Arguello elected">Template:Cite news</ref> but Chamorro retained Daniel Ortega's brother, Humberto Ortega, as a military leader. She claimed the position of Defense Minister and named Humberto Ortega to second-in-command as the Chief of Staff.<ref name="Humberto Chief of Staff">Template:Cite news</ref> For this, Chamorro's critics accused her of supporting the Sandinistas, but it proved to be a valuable political move.Template:Sfn The president demonstrated that, for the good of the nation, she was willing to compromise in ways that fostered reconciliation.Template:Sfn She also appointed three FSLN cabinet members, including one for agrarian reform.Template:Sfn

US relations

When Chamorro was elected, President George H. W. Bush removed the embargo that President Ronald Reagan had imposed during Sandinista rule and promised economic aid to the country.Template:Sfn In addition, the United States paid off the past-due debts of Nicaragua that were owed to private banks, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank.Template:Sfn Some people in Chamorro's campaign team were hoping to get $1 billion in aid from the United States to help rebuild the country after the years of civil war,Template:Sfn but the Bush administration instead gave $300 million to the country in the first year of Chamorro's presidency, 1990, and $241 million the year after.Template:Sfn Given the devastation that Nicaragua had faced, this aid was not enough to make any serious improvement,Template:Sfn and the renegotiated loans created even more debt.Template:Sfn

A plaque in Chamorro's Peace Park thanking US President George H. W. Bush for his contribution to the re-establishment of democracy in Nicaragua.

During Chamorro's presidency, US interest in Nicaragua declined, to the point that when Chamorro traveled to the US in April 1991 to ask Congress for more economic aid, few members showed up to listen to her.Template:Sfn Because the Sandinistas were no longer a threat and peace talks were being established, US policymakers were much less concerned with Nicaragua than with issues in the Middle East.<ref name="The Stanford Daily">Template:Cite news</ref> Hoping to improve relations, Chamorro's administration repealed the law that required the country to seek compensation in the International Court of Justice (ICJ) case of Nicaragua v. United States, which had long been contentious, and withdrew the suit.<ref name=Refworld /> The United States had refused to recognise the ICJ's judgment, which had found five years earlier that the US had violated international law by sponsoring the Contras and ordered it to make reparations.

In 1992, Senator Jesse Helms attempted to cut off financial aid to Nicaragua. In his report to the Senate, he said that the Sandinistas were still controlling much of the Nicaraguan administration and suggested that the Nicaraguan government replace all former Sandinista officers with ex-Contras, replace all judges, and return all property that was taken from US citizens during the revolution. Chamorro's administration denied Helms's allegations while still trying to comply with his demands. Helms managed to sway opinion in Congress, and the US government denied Nicaragua the $104 million that had been promised for that year.Template:Sfn The aid was cut off and Helms's demands were made the month after Chamorro withdrew the compensation claims associated with the Nicaragua vs. United States verdict.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Economic stability

Chamorro with US president Bill Clinton and Central American presidents in the White House, 30 November 1993

Chamorro inherited an economy devastated by civil warTemplate:Sfn and which had been struggling with hyperinflation – at one point, a rate of over 13,000%<ref name="GuardianObit"/> – since 1988.Template:Sfn Economic mismanagement and nationalizations by the Sandinistas, along with US economic sanctions, had also damaged the economy.<ref name="WSJ Obit"/> Chamorro's administration immediately set about trying to eliminate inflation. The neoliberal model outlined in the Mayorga Plan attempted to re-integrate Nicaragua into the world market, increase foreign investment while reducing foreign dependence, and increase privatization.Template:Sfn First the government combined state enterprises into a holding company known as the Corporaciones Nacionales del Sector Público (CORNAP) and set about privatizing them. The goal was to raise capital by privatizing 90% of the CORNAP companies by 1993, but the response was slow. Next, the administration introduced the córdoba oro, which put Nicaraguan currency on par with the US dollar, but confidence in the new currency was never attained. One third of it was returned to the bank in exchange for US funds.Template:Sfn Devaluing the currency and ending subsidies of basic consumer goods reduced government spending, but created unrest with lower-middle-class and working-class people, who were faced with rising prices, layoffs due to privatization,<ref name=strikes>Template:Cite news</ref> and stagnant wages.Template:Sfn

In the opening months of the Chamorro administration, social programs were cut, including free bus tokens for the education sector, pensions for the elderly and disabled,<ref name="austerity measures">Template:Cite news</ref> child care and child development services, and health care initiatives.Template:Sfn By 1991 the austerity measures adopted by Chamorro's administration were leading to massive strikes. Chamorro chose to recognize the workers' right to 25% of the shares of privatized state enterprises, despite the disapproval that generated both at home and abroad. The Sandinistas, who had removed some of the businesses from the private sector during their administration, were not in favor of privatization, but they were in favor of workers sharing in the revenues. The far-right of her own coalition was against making labor compromises of any kind. The US embassy and United States Agency for International Development both voiced displeasure at the concessions and speed with which the economic plan was being implemented.<ref name="US Aid">Template:Cite journal</ref>

In spite of the other programs implemented, inflation was reduced by the renegotiation of the country's debt (called for by the Lacayo Plan). Through negotiations, Nicaragua was able to obtain a writedown of 75% of their international debt on the condition that they had no arrears.Template:Sfn

As noted previously, the US assisted Nicaragua in paying off the past-due debt to the IMF, the World BankTemplate:Sfn and the Inter-American Development Bank through bridge loans, and negotiating a 95% writedown of debts owed to Colombia, Mexico, and Venezuela.Template:Sfn These measures provided the means to end hyperinflation and reopen monetary markets, but they were overshadowed by high unemployment, underemployment and an overall recession. The trade deficit rose and GNP declined, and overall low wages and reductions of education and health services caused poverty to escalate, and social tensions to rise.Template:Sfn

Violeta Chamorro's years in power began a period of significant economic and social decline for Nicaragua. From 1990 to 2001, the country fell from 60th to 116th place in the world for human development, as measured by the Human Development Index, and became the poorest country in the Americas after Haiti, according to the United Nations Development Program.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Public spending per capita on health fell from $35 in 1989 to $14 in 1995. Medical assistance for childbirth and diagnosis of female cancers were reduced. Child development centers established in the 1980s—which served 75,000 children—were eliminated. On the other hand, infant mortality in 1990 was 53 per 1,000 live births and went down to 37 per 1,000 live births in 1998 during Chamorro's tenure.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Life expectancy rose from 62 in 1990 to 64 in 1998.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Salvador Martí i Puig and Eduardo Baumeister indicate that between 1993 and 1998 rural poverty declined by 7% from 1,553,000 to 1,517,000.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> The poverty rate as measured as those living with less than $1.90 a day dropped by 33.33% between 1993 and 1998 from 36.3% to 24.2%.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> When assessed as those earning less than $3.20 per day, poverty dropped from 58.6% to 48% in the same period.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Constitutional crisis

Besides the economic issues which plagued the country, the constitutional crisis that occurred in 1995 posed a significant threat to maintaining peace.Template:Sfn When Chamorro took office, she was governing under the Constitution of 1987, which had been drafted by the Sandinistas and provided for a strong executive branch and a weaker, compliant legislature and judiciary.<ref name="Constitutional Crisis">Template:Cite news</ref> In 1993, the legislature began to review the constitution to restructure the country's government. After a year of discussion, the changes were submitted to the National Assembly, approved in the first round of voting, and passed in February 1995.Template:Sfn The reforms to the Constitution were intended to reduce of the power of the presidency, and included measures to transfer the authority to levy taxes to the legislature, prohibit conscription, guarantee property rights, and curtail the succession of an incumbent or their close family members.<ref name="Constitutional Crisis" /> Chamorro refused to publish the changes in La Gaceta (the official journal of the legislature),Template:Sfn stating that the legislature had overstepped its authority.<ref name="Constitutional Crisis" />

In response, the legislature published the revisions on its own, effectively creating a situation of dual constitutions.Template:Sfn As it lacked a quorum, the Supreme Court was unable to act. To solve the situation, the legislators appointed six new justices, but the Court still refused to act, as doing so would be to accept the appointments and thus validate the new constitution.Template:Sfn Chamorro choreographed a ruling from the Supreme Court which voided the Assembly's publication of the reforms, provoking the Assembly to refuse to acknowledge the Court's authority. As international investors began to fret over the ensuing instability and evaluate further aid,<ref name="CS Monitor">Template:Cite news</ref> the Roman Catholic cardinal Miguel Obando y Bravo stepped in as mediator and brokered an accord. Chamorro agreed to publish the new constitution, as required by law,<ref name="New Nicaraguan Constitution">Template:Cite news</ref> and the Assembly agreed to allow the president to continue to negotiate foreign aid and tax measures, though no longer by decree. One of the most contentious provisions, which banned nepotism, was conceded by Chamorro. Both sides claimed victory,<ref name="CS Monitor" /> though the Supreme Court issue was still not resolved: the Assembly insisted their appointees were valid and the President refused to acknowledge them.<ref name="New Nicaraguan Constitution" />

As in other crises, Chamorro's ability to compromise was pivotal. The executive and legislative branches became more interdependent, but power was shared. The National Assembly prepared the budget, but the president had to be consulted on taxation; Supreme Court vacancies had to be agreed on by both of the other branches of government;Template:Sfn and although the president retained the power of veto, the legislature could overturn a veto by a simple majority vote.Template:Sfn Though some of the changes also included reform of the Code of Criminal Procedures—creating trial by jury, expanding the right of citizens to press charges, and evaluating police authority, among othersTemplate:Sfn—failure of the government to investigate past abuses by the police and the military or institute judicial proceedings, granted tacit impunity for those who committed human rights abuses or violence. Though the 1990 Amnesty Law had curtailed some of administration's ability to prosecute,Template:Sfn it also lacked the funds, impartial judiciary and possibly the will to seek transitional justice. Sofía Montenegro, editor of the Sandinista paper Barricada, and others have argued that Chamorro would have dealt with past abuse if she had been able. Bishop Template:Ill and others believe that her faith would have required her to forgive. Prosecutions would have prolonged conflict and harsh retaliation by the government would not have produced the reconciliation and peace she desired.Template:Sfn

Gender consequences

Chamorro with Argentine president Carlos Menem in Colombia, June 1994

Though 15 members of her parliament (16%) were women, few advances in women's rights were made during Chamorro's administration.Template:Sfn Chamorro was not a feminist, since her beliefs prevented her from advocating many of the goals of traditional feminism. She was against abortion and questioned cohabitation, contraception and divorce. Cutbacks in public services during her regime, like child care and centers for rehabilitation, led to an increase in low-income women being forced into prostitution and crime.Template:Sfn According to a United Nations study, the financial insecurity forced women and adolescents into "street professions", elevating security risks and increasing the rate of drop outs, drug abuse, juvenile delinquency and prostitution.<ref name="prostitution, delinquency, drug use">Template:Cite web</ref> In addition, austerity measures that eliminated free health care made it difficult for the poor to afford care. The Sandinista Workers Central (Template:Langx, CST) stepped in to offer health care and child care to women who could not afford the new government plan.Template:Sfn Chamorro did support women's rights to become property holders, and saw such ownership as a protection when divorce or widowhood deprived women of a husband's support. Her administration did not actively prepare or encourage women's participation in political life, nor did she appoint women to government positions.Template:Sfn

The economic policies adopted by Chamorro feminized Nicaragua's labor force. While men's employment rate between 1977 and 1985 remained constant at 68%, women's employment outside the home in Nicaragua steadily increased during the same time frame with no reduction in the expectations of simultaneous work within the home. Women's participation in the labor market increased from 26.7% in 1977 to 32% in 1985 and by 1995 was at 36%, one of the highest participation rates in Central America. Though Chamorro's policies changed the nature of the formal work force by introducing more women, the policies did not result in corresponding income increases: wages remained stagnant and changed little over the decade.Template:Sfn

The 1992 Sexual Crime Code modifications resulted in winners and losers. Previously, the Penal Code had the penalty for rape specified as 8 to 12 years in prison (compared to 6 to 14 for simple homicide).<ref name="Morgan (1995)">Template:Cite journal</ref> However, it also defined some lesser sexual crimes in a way designed to protect the interests of fathers and husbands more than of the women themselves; for example, the penalty for "kidnapping of a virgin [...] when her guardians were away or without violence" depended on whether marriage was intended. Victoria González-Rivera writes that prior to the 1992 changes, rape had been considered a private affair, and the law encouraged women to marry their rapists or accept a monetary settlement.Template:Sfn UNO women and FSLN women in the National Assembly joined forces after Chamorro won the election and formed a Commission on Women, Youth, Children and the Family; they began to discuss reform of the sexual crimes law. Convincing 18 bipartisan legislators to introduce a reform, they asked for increasing penalties for rape (to 15 to 20 years), decriminalization for abortion if the pregnancy was the result of rape, and decriminalization of consensual sodomy. When the final bill passed, the approved version eliminated the exception for abortion for rape victims. Not only did it not decriminalize sodomy, but it increased the scope of the existing law to include "inducing, promoting or propagandizing" homosexual conduct.<ref name="Morgan (1995)" /> The new anti-sodomy law was the most repressive law of its type in Latin America,Template:Sfn changing the imposed sentence for "anyone who induces, promotes, propagandizes, or practices sex among persons of the same sex in a scandalous manner" to as much as three years in prison.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Chamorro rejected calls to veto the law and sent it for publication in La Gaceta, a legal requirement for a statute to become law. Lawyers immediately challenged the constitutionality of the law, but on 7 March 1994 the Supreme Court rejected their challenge.<ref name="Morgan (1995)" />

Post-presidency

Chamorro did not contest in the 1996 general election since, at the time, the Constitution did not allow presidents to run for immediate reelection. The presidency was won by conservative Arnoldo Alemán, who – in an election described by observers as "flawed but fair" – received 51% of the votes cast over Daniel Ortega's 37.8%.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The handover of power took place on 10 January 1997.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Chamorro retired from politics after her presidential term ended. In July 1997, she established a foundation bearing her name (Template:Langx), which she chaired, intended to create development projects to strengthen peace initiatives; it ceased operations in Nicaragua in 2021 under pressure from Ortega, who returned to power in 2007, has established a dictatorship.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="AP-20250615"/> She joined the Carter Center's Council of Presidents and Prime Ministers of the Americas Program, which works for co-operation and peace throughout the Americas.<ref name="CIDOB bio" /> Chamorro was also a member of the Inter-American Dialogue.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

She left Nicaragua, and the family home in Managua she had shared with her late husband, for Costa Rica in October 2023.<ref name="BBCc722jdrnnewo"/>

Illness and death

Chamorro suffered from poor health and had several surgeries to correct problems with osteoporosis.<ref name="health problems">Template:Cite news</ref> During her presidential campaign, she was on crutches most of the time due to a fractured kneecap as a result of her osteoporosis.<ref name="Pallais (1992)" /> She later developed a brain tumor, which kept her out of public life.<ref name=Confidencial />

Chamorro died in San José, Costa Rica, on 14 June 2025, at the age of 95. Her family announced that she would be buried in Costa Rica, where she will remain "until Nicaragua is once again a republic".<ref name=":0">Template:Cite web</ref> Her funeral took place on 16 June in the Templo Votivo Santuario Nacional Sagrado Corazón de Jesús, in San José, less than 300 metres from the Nicaraguan Embassy in Costa Rica. Former Costa Rican presidents Óscar Arias and Luis Guillermo Solís attended.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> She was buried the following day in her uncle's tomb in San José's General Cemetery.<ref name=confidencial>Template:Cite web</ref>

Awards

• Isaiah Thomas Award in Publishing from the Rochester Institute of Technology.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
• 1986 – Louis M. Lyons Award for Conscience and Integrity in Journalism.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
• 1991 – Democracy Award from the National Endowment for Democracy.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
• 1997 – Path to Peace Award from the Path to Peace Foundation.<ref name="Path to Peace">Template:Cite web</ref>
• 2001 – Award for Leadership in Global Trade.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Autobiography

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See also

• Chamorro (family)

Sources

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External links

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• Violeta de Chamorro Foundation (Template:Webarchive)
• Biography by CIDOB (in Spanish)
• Violeta Chamorro: New Direction for Nicaragua from the Dean Peter Krogh Foreign Affairs Digital Archives
• Biography by CIDOB (in Spanish)
• Template:C-SPAN