A man's experiences of his community and the world affect his understanding of himself
and his place in them. The mestizo of Latin America --those of European and Indian
blood-- have struggled long and hard to define their identity. Being neither white nor
aboriginal, they lacked a predefined identity. Living in a cultural vacuum, they were
derided by Europeans and mistrusted by the Indians, but because they shared in their
oppression and suffering with the Indians, they chose to ground their roots with the
Indians. Aboriginal society was not, however, a fruitful soil to plant in, for their
mythical social order had collapsed with the European's arrival. Thus, part of that Latin
American struggle for a distinct identity was centred around the reconstruction and cult
of the past. They believed they would establish their identity upon the recreation of the
pre-Columbian cultural world, for only then, once they had grounded their origins, could
they begin to interpret the meaning of their existence. Paradoxically, their rejection of
the Imperial Order and their quest for independence in the nineteenth century, rather than
taking them back to their desired roots, brought them to the worship of the modern era and
its myths.
The question about the meaning of existence has religious dimensions, and although
political answers to this question are sometimes attempted, they do not sufficiently
articulate the full scope of the reality human beings experience. Religions provide more
adequate means of explaining human experiences of belonging, of beginning and end, of
decay and stagnation, and the crucial issue of our purpose. In turn, the kind of religion
that is chosen is determined by one's experiences of community and the world.
Amidst this search, more urgently prompted in periods of crisis, the identity and
self-understanding of some Nicaraguans was shaken once again when the United States
Marines occupied their country from 1912 to 1933. Following the defeat of Spain at the end
of the nineteenth century, the United States expanded into the Caribbean region and
displaced Great Britain; that expansion brought U.S. Marines to Nicaragua after the fall
of dictator President José Santos Zelaya, a Liberal. Zelaya was a staunch nationalist.
Under his leadership the British were finally expelled from the Mosquitia (The
Atlantic coast of Nicaragua). He also resisted American plans to build an inter-oceanic
canal through Nicaragua.
Zelaya's hostility toward the United States led to his fall and to the arrival of the
Conservatives to power. Under Conservative rule, Nicaragua became a virtual protectorate
of the United States. The United States government secured control of the Nicaraguan
customs, administered the collection of its taxes, and seized control of the National
Railway Company and the National Bank. In addition to income and finances, the
"apolitical" Guardia Nacional (National Guard) was later established and
directed in its entirety by American officers. It was also during this period that the
Bryan-Chamorro Treaty was signed, and Nicaragua relinquished its claim to the islands of
San Andrés and Providencia in favour of Colombia.
The American occupation occurred at a time when Nicaragua's tenuous social order was
collapsing --the fault, largely, of the power-hungry élites who were incapable of keeping
their ambitions in check and maintain their house in order. In the mind of Augusto Sandino
the occupation was similar to the domination of the Indian race by the Europeans; it was
different in that he thought that those he called the North American Anglo-Saxon conqueror
now wanted to destroy the new Indo-Hispanic race. Between 1927 and 1933, his rebellious
legion of ill-equipped peasants fought a protracted guerrilla war against the Marines in
the northern hills of Nicaragua, the Segovias. Sandino believed himself to be the new
defender of the violated race and claimed to have a mystical linkage with the Indian race.
Sandino applied to Nicaragua the political analysis and symbols of Socialism,
Anarcho-communism, and Indo-Hispanic racial rhetoric he had learned in revolutionary
Mexico, where he was also initiated in a variety of esoteric beliefs. Later, he became
acquainted with the spiritist beliefs of Joaquín Trincado (1855-1935) and his
Magnetic-Spiritual School of the Universal Commune (EMECU),
with whom he continued to learn about the occult, Kabbalistic traditions and theosophy.
Ultimately, Sandino claimed divine inspiration and representation, announcing salvation
and the coming of a new era. He came to believe that he was a new
messiah. America's commitment to pacifying Nicaragua by eradicating the Sandino threat
failed, and it eventually withdrew its troops.
This study has two objectives. The first is to place Sandino within the millenarian
tradition; that is, to show in detail that Sandino's expectations were millenarian and
that those expectations were central to his rebellion, at least as much if not more than
his nationalism. The second, closely related to the first, is to trace the development of
Sandino's rebellion throughout his life. Sandino's disposition unfolded over time and
possessed a dynamic character. It will become apparent that there was not one Sandino, but
many: there was Sandino embittered child and youth, the rebel, the nationalist, the
anarchist, the communist, the socialist, the Freemason, the theosophist and the
millenarian. Biography is thus the best suited approach to trace the development of
complex a man.
This study is divided into six chapters. Chapter One introduces the theory of
millenarianism and highlights some of its central aspects. The following four chapters
carefully examine Sandino's life. Chapter Two covers Sandino's early days to the beginning
of his rebellion, tracing the misery of his childhood and the suffering of his adult life.
The third chapter details his patriotic war against the American forces, his hatred for
General Moncada and the initial animus of his war. Chapter Four describes his second trip
to Mexico, his disappointments there and his immersion in the spiritualist ideas that led
him down the messianic path. Chapter Five covers the peace between Sandino and the
government of Nicaragua that came with the evacuation of the Marines, addresses the Pax
Sandinista and Sandino's project of setting up a commune as a model for the perfect
society he wished to create. Chapter Six examines the nature and characteristics of Sandino and his beliefs by placing them within the context of
millenarian theoretical prescriptions. It is followed by a short conclusion.
