chamorro

wiki<div>Cioleta Chamorro (Spanish pronunciation: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA/Spanish" title="Help:IPA/Spanish" style="color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; text-decoration-line: none !important;">[bjoˈleta tʃaˈmoro]</a>, born Violeta Barrios Torres; 18 October 1929) is a Nicaraguan politician, former <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/President_of_Nicaragua" title="President of Nicaragua" style="font-size: 14px; text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">president</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Publisher" class="mw-redirect" title="Publisher" style="font-size: 14px; text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">publisher</a>, known for ending the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicaraguan_Revolution#Contra_War" title="Nicaraguan Revolution" style="font-size: 14px; text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">Contra War</a>, the final chapter of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicaraguan_Revolution" title="Nicaraguan Revolution" style="font-size: 14px; text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">Nicaraguan Revolution</a>, and bringing peace to the country. She was the first and, to date, only woman to hold the position of president in Nicaragua.</div>Born into a landed family in southern <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicaragua" title="Nicaragua" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Nicaragua</a>, Chamorro was partially educated in the United States. After returning to her home country, she married and raised a family. Her husband, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pedro_Joaqu%C3%ADn_Chamorro_Cardenal" title="Pedro Joaquín Chamorro Cardenal" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Pedro Joaquín Chamorro Cardenal</a>, was a journalist working at his family's newspaper, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Prensa(Managua)" title="La Prensa (Managua)" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">La Prensa</a>, 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 <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandinista" class="mw-redirect" title="Sandinista" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Sandinistas</a> were victorious over <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anastasio_Somoza_Debayle" title="Anastasio Somoza Debayle" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Anastasio Somoza Debayle</a>, Chamorro fully supported them. She agreed to become part of the provisional government established under the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Junta_of_National_Reconstruction" title="Junta of National Reconstruction" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Junta of National Reconstruction</a> (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_language" title="Spanish language" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Spanish</a>: Junta de Gobierno de Reconstrucción Nacional, JGRN); however, when the Junta began moving in a more radical direction and signed agreements with the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_Union" title="Soviet Union" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Soviet Union</a>, Chamorro resigned 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 <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Ortega" title="Daniel Ortega" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Daniel Ortega</a> announced that elections would be held in 1990, Chamorro was selected as the candidate for the opposition group known as the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Opposition_Union" title="National Opposition Union" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">National Opposition Union</a> (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_language" title="Spanish language" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Spanish</a>: Unión Nacional Opositora, UNO). This 14-party alliance ranged from <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conservatism" title="Conservatism" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">conservatives</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberalism" title="Liberalism" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">liberals</a> to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communism" title="Communism" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">communists</a> and because of idealistic differences had difficulty in devising any political platform other than a promise to end the war. Despite polls indicating a victory for the incumbent Sandinista President Ortega, Chamorro won the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicaraguan_general_election,1990" class="mw-redirect" title="Nicaraguan general election, 1990" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">election</a> on 25 February 1990, becoming the first elected <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_elected_or_appointed_female_heads_of_state" class="mw-redirect" title="List of elected or appointed female heads of state" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">female head of state</a> in the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Americas" title="Americas" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Americas</a>.When Chamorro was sworn into office on 25 April 1990, it was the first time in more than five decades that a peaceful transition of power had occurred in Nicaragua and the first time that one elected president had given way to another. She inherited a hyperinflated, war-torn economy, but she was able to end the war and establish a lasting peace. Chamorro's leadership covered six difficult 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.<div id="toc" class="toc" style="border: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); background-color: rgb(248, 249, 250); padding: 7px; font-size: 13.3px; display: table; zoom: 1; color: rgb(34, 34, 34);"><input type="checkbox" role="button" id="toctogglecheckbox" class="toctogglecheckbox" style="direction: ltr; position: absolute; opacity: 0; z-index: -1; display: none;" /><div class="toctitle" lang="en" dir="ltr" style="direction: ltr; text-align: center;">
</div><ul style="margin: 0.3em 0px; padding: 0px; list-style-image: none; list-style-type: none;"><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-1" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violeta_Chamorro#Early_life" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">1Early life</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-2" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violeta_Chamorro#Personal_life" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">2Personal life</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-3" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violeta_Chamorro#Rise_to_power" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">3Rise to power</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-4" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violeta_Chamorro#Presidency(1990-1997)" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">4Presidency (1990-1997)</a><ul style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 2em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: none; list-style-type: none;"><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-5" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violeta_Chamorro#Peace_reforms" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">4.1Peace reforms</a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-6" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violeta_Chamorro#US_relations" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">4.2US relations</a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-7" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violeta_Chamorro#Economic_stability" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">4.3Economic stability</a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-8" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violeta_Chamorro#Constitutional_crisis" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">4.4Constitutional crisis</a></li><li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-9" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violeta_Chamorro#Gender_consequences" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">4.5Gender consequences</a></li></ul></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-10" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violeta_Chamorro#Post-presidency" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">5Post-presidency</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-11" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violeta_Chamorro#Awards" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">6Awards</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-12" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violeta_Chamorro#Autobiography" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">7Autobiography</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-13" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violeta_Chamorro#References" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">8References</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-14" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violeta_Chamorro#Sources" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">9Sources</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-15" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violeta_Chamorro#Notes" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">10Notes</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-16" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violeta_Chamorro#External_links" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">11External links</a></li></ul></div><h2 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); font-family: "Linux Libertine", Georgia, Times, serif; line-height: 1.3;">Early life[<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Violeta_Chamorro&action=edit&section=1&editintro=Template:BLP_editintro" title="Edit section: Early life" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">edit</a>]</h2>Violeta Barrios Torres was born on 18 October 1929 in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rivas,Nicaragua" title="Rivas, Nicaragua" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Rivas</a>, a small city near the Nicaraguan border with <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Costa_Rica" title="Costa Rica" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Costa Rica</a>, to Carlos José Barrios Sacasa and Amalia Torres Hurtado.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violeta_Chamorro#cite_note-Pallais(1992)-2" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">[2]</a> Her family was wealthy and conservative, and although she has often been claimed by reporters such as <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Richard_Boudreaux&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Richard Boudreaux (page does not exist)" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(165, 88, 88); background: none;">Richard Boudreaux</a> of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Los_Angeles_Times" class="mw-redirect" title="The Los Angeles Times" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">The Los Angeles Times</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garrick_Utley" title="Garrick Utley" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Garrick Utley</a> of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NBC" title="NBC" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">NBC</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Kinzer" title="Stephen Kinzer" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Stephen Kinzer</a> of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_New_York_Times" title="The New York Times" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">The New York Times</a>, Lee Hockstader of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Washington_Post" title="The Washington Post" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">The Washington Post</a>, and other papers to be part 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 <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gloria_Vanderbilt" title="Gloria Vanderbilt" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Gloria Vanderbilt</a>", she was sometimes styled as in the American press.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violeta_Chamorro#cite_note-FOOTNOTELeiken200373%E2%80%9374-3" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">[3]</a>She attended primary school at the Sagrado Corazón de Jesús (Sacred Heart of Jesus) school in Rivas and the French school in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Granada,Nicaragua" title="Granada, Nicaragua" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Granada</a>. Barrios began her secondary education at the Colegio La Inmaculada in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Managua" title="Managua" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Managua</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violeta_Chamorro#cite_note-Pallais(1992)-2" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">[2]</a> and then transferred to an American boarding school, as her parents wanted her to perfect her English.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violeta_Chamorro#cite_note-FOOTNOTEChamorro199638%E2%80%9340-4" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">[4]</a> She first attended <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Our_Lady_of_the_Lake_University" title="Our Lady of the Lake University" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Our Lady of the Lake Catholic High School for Girls</a> in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Antonio,Texas" class="mw-redirect" title="San Antonio, Texas" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">San Antonio, Texas</a>, and then in 1945 changed to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackstone_College_for_Girls" title="Blackstone College for Girls" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Blackstone College for Girls</a> in Virginia.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violeta_Chamorro#cite_note-Pallais(1992)-2" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">[2]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violeta_Chamorro#cite_note-FOOTNOTEMorkovsky2009226-5" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">[5]</a> 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.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violeta_Chamorro#cite_note-FOOTNOTEChamorro199638%E2%80%9340-4" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">[4]</a><h2 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); font-family: "Linux Libertine", Georgia, Times, serif; line-height: 1.3;">Personal life[<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Violeta_Chamorro&action=edit&section=2&editintro=Template:BLP_editintro" title="Edit section: Personal life" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">edit</a>]</h2>Violeta met <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pedro_Joaqu%C3%ADn_Chamorro_Cardenal" title="Pedro Joaquín Chamorro Cardenal" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Pedro Joaquín Chamorro Cardenal</a> in 1949,<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violeta_Chamorro#cite_note-NY_Times-6" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">[6]</a> they married in December 1950; subsequently, they had five children together. In 1952, on his father's death, Chamorro's husband inherited the newspaper <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Prensa(Managua)" title="La Prensa (Managua)" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">La Prensa</a>. 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.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violeta_Chamorro#cite_note-FOOTNOTEBaldwin1996100-7" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">[7]</a> Chamorro's earnings from a rental property that her mother had given her gave the couple a steady income. When her husband was <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assassinated" class="mw-redirect" title="Assassinated" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">assassinated</a> on 10 January 1978, she took over control of the newspaper.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violeta_Chamorro#cite_note-FOOTNOTELeiken200374-8" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">[8]</a>Over the years, Chamorro's family has been 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 <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contras" title="Contras" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Contras</a>. Her other children were active Sandinistas; Claudia was ambassador to Costa Rica and Carlos became the editor of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FSLN" class="mw-redirect" title="FSLN" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">FSLN</a> daily newspaper <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barricada(FSLN)" title="Barricada (FSLN)" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Barricada</a>. 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.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violeta_Chamorro#cite_note-FOOTNOTEBeckmanD'Amico199534%E2%80%9336-9" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">[9]</a><h2 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); font-family: "Linux Libertine", Georgia, Times, serif; line-height: 1.3;">Rise to power[<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Violeta_Chamorro&action=edit&section=3&editintro=Template:BLP_editintro" title="Edit section: Rise to power" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">edit</a>]</h2>The assassination of Chamorro's husband sparked the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandinista_Revolution" class="mw-redirect" title="Sandinista Revolution" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Sandinista Revolution</a>. His image became a symbol of their cause and when <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Ortega" title="Daniel Ortega" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Daniel Ortega</a> led the Sandinista guerrillas triumphantly into Managua in July 1979, Chamorro was with them.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violeta_Chamorro#cite_note-NY_Times-6" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">[6]</a> A coalition to replace the Somoza regime was formed. Chamorro, represented the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Democratic_Union_of_Liberation&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Democratic Union of Liberation (page does not exist)" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(165, 88, 88); background: none;">Democratic Union of Liberation</a> (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_language" title="Spanish language" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Spanish</a>: Unión Democrática de Liberación, UDEL) in the first <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Junta_of_National_Reconstruction" title="Junta of National Reconstruction" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Junta of National Reconstruction</a> (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_language" title="Spanish language" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Spanish</a>: Junta de Gobierno de Reconstrucción Nacional, JGRN), which also included Ortega for the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandinista_National_Liberation_Front" title="Sandinista National Liberation Front" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Sandinista National Liberation Front</a> (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_language" title="Spanish language" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Spanish</a>: Frente Sandinista de Liberación Nacional, FSLN); Moisés Hassan Morales, of the pro-Sandinista National Patriotic Front (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_language" title="Spanish language" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Spanish</a>: Frente Patriotico Nacional, FPN); <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfonso_Robelo" title="Alfonso Robelo" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Luis Alfonso Robelo Callejas</a>, with the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicaraguan_Democratic_Movement" title="Nicaraguan Democratic Movement" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Nicaraguan Democratic Movement</a> (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_language" title="Spanish language" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Spanish</a>: Movimiento Democrático Nicaragüense, MDN); and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sergio_Ramirez_Mercado" class="mw-redirect" title="Sergio Ramirez Mercado" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Sergio Ramirez Mercado</a> for the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Los_Doce" title="Los Doce" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Group of Twelve</a> (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_language" title="Spanish language" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Spanish</a>: El Grupo de los Doce).<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violeta_Chamorro#cite_note-CIDOB_bio-10" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">[10]</a> 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.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violeta_Chamorro#cite_note-FOOTNOTEHamiltonInouye199527-11" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">[11]</a> 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 it was believed that a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marxist" class="mw-redirect" title="Marxist" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Marxist</a>-style government would restore prosperity;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violeta_Chamorro#cite_note-FOOTNOTEBaldwin1996101-12" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">[12]</a> however, the Sandinistas soon began taking over television and radio stations and censoring newspapers.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violeta_Chamorro#cite_note-FOOTNOTEHamiltonInouye199527-11" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">[11]</a> Following the lead of the Sandinista's mentor <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fidel_Castro" title="Fidel Castro" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Fidel Castro</a>, Cuban-style Marxism was implemented and Nicaragua increasingly took on the traits of a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Police_state" title="Police state" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">police state</a>,<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violeta_Chamorro#cite_note-FOOTNOTEBaldwin1996101-12" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">[12]</a> 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.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violeta_Chamorro#cite_note-FOOTNOTESteinmetz1994135-13" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">[13]</a>In March 1980, FSLN signed several accords with the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_Union" title="Soviet Union" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Soviet Union</a> causing the US President, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy_Carter" title="Jimmy Carter" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Jimmy Carter</a>, who had initially authorized aid to the Sandinista government, to approve <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CIA" class="mw-redirect" title="CIA" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">CIA</a> support for the opposition forces.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violeta_Chamorro#cite_note-Nicaragua_and_Iran_Timeline-14" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">[14]</a> On 19 April 1980, Chamorro resigned from the Junta<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violeta_Chamorro#cite_note-CIDOB_bio-10" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">[10]</a> in opposition to the Sandinista's push for control, implementation of a Cuban interpretation of Marx,<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violeta_Chamorro#cite_note-NY_Times-6" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">[6]</a> and failure to keep the commitments made in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puntarenas" title="Puntarenas" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Puntarenas</a>, Costa Rica for establishment of a democracy.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violeta_Chamorro#cite_note-CIDOB_bio-10" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">[10]</a> Her exit prompted other members of the Junta to resign and join opposition groups that were beginning to form.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violeta_Chamorro#cite_note-FOOTNOTEHamiltonInouye199529-15" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">[15]</a> She returned to her role as editor of La Prensa, driving it to become both an advocate of free speech and opposition thought.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violeta_Chamorro#cite_note-NY_Times-6" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">[6]</a> Her support of the Contras caused divisions in her own family<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violeta_Chamorro#cite_note-FOOTNOTEGuillermoprieto199540-16" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">[16]</a> and resulted in La Prensa's offices being temporarily shut down on several occasions.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violeta_Chamorro#cite_note-CIDOB_bio-10" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">[10]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violeta_Chamorro#cite_note-FOOTNOTEBeckmanD'Amico199537-17" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">[17]</a> In 1986, President Ortega even threatened her personally with a thirty-year prison sentence for treason.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violeta_Chamorro#cite_note-FOOTNOTEBaldwin1996101-12" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">[12]</a> That same year, she won the Louis Lyons Award from the Nieman Foundation at <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harvard_University" title="Harvard University" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Harvard University</a>; 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.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violeta_Chamorro#cite_note-Louis_Lyons_Award-18" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">[18]</a>From 1987, a conglomerate of 14 political parties began working together in the hope of defeating the Sandinistas should an election come about.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violeta_Chamorro#cite_note-Pallais(1992)-2" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">[2]</a> By 1989, efforts by Costa Rican President <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%93scar_Arias" title="Óscar Arias" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Óscar Arias</a> 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.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violeta_Chamorro#cite_note-FOOTNOTEBaldwin1996101-12" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">[12]</a> The conglomerate of opposition, now calling itself the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Opposition_Union" title="National Opposition Union" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">National Opposition Union</a> (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_language" title="Spanish language" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Spanish</a>: Unión Nacional Opositora, UNO) agreed upon a formula to select a consensus candidate. After five rounds of voting,<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violeta_Chamorro#cite_note-Pallais(1992)-2" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">[2]</a> Chamorro was appointed the presidential candidate for UNO.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violeta_Chamorro#cite_note-FOOTNOTEGuillermoprieto199540-16" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">[16]</a> Her platform primarily consisted of two key promises: ending the civil war and ending mandatory military service.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violeta_Chamorro#cite_note-Pallais(1992)-2" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">[2]</a> It also played heavily on her simplicity, her faith, common sense,<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violeta_Chamorro#cite_note-FOOTNOTEBaldwin1996101%E2%80%93102-19" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">[19]</a> and the image of her being the "queen-mother" and the wife of a martyr.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violeta_Chamorro#cite_note-Pallais(1992)-2" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">[2]</a>Almost all news outlets reported that Chamorro could not win.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violeta_Chamorro#cite_note-broke,disorganized,in-fighting-20" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">[20]</a> She was depicted as rich with no real experience.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violeta_Chamorro#cite_note-NY_Times-6" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">[6]</a> There were rumors that she received millions from the United States via their embassy and that she was a US lackey;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violeta_Chamorro#cite_note-Revista_Env%C3%ADo-21" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">[21]</a> that she was too religious; and that her coalition was too disorganized, had no money, and was plagued by in-fighting.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violeta_Chamorro#cite_note-broke,disorganized,in-fighting-20" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">[20]</a> In reality, her humility and provincial roots worked for her;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violeta_Chamorro#cite_note-FOOTNOTELeiken200373%E2%80%9374-3" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">[3]</a> she had run a family, a business and been part of the original Junta;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violeta_Chamorro#cite_note-NY_Times-6" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">[6]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violeta_Chamorro#cite_note-CIDOB_bio-10" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">[10]</a> the Sandinistas blocked payment of funds to her from the US while simultaneously claiming she received them;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violeta_Chamorro#cite_note-delays_and_more_delays-22" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">[22]</a> and she had long been vocal about her displeasure of US involvement in Nicaragua.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violeta_Chamorro#cite_note-FOOTNOTELeiken200375-23" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">[23]</a> According to Peruvian novelist <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mario_Vargas_Llosa" title="Mario Vargas Llosa" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Mario Vargas Llosa</a>; Humberto Belli, an editor of La Prensa and later Minister of Education; and other writers such as <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Sheehan" title="Edward Sheehan" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Edward Sheehan</a>and Shirley Christian who have written about the country, Nicaragua is one of the most religious countries in Latin America.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violeta_Chamorro#cite_note-FOOTNOTELeiken200369-24" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">[24]</a> Chamorro's faith and support for free expression united those who had felt alienated by the Sandinistas.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violeta_Chamorro#cite_note-Sandinistas_lost_touch-25" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">[25]</a> Her chief appeal though was that she promised peace to a country tired of war.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violeta_Chamorro#cite_note-FOOTNOTEBeckmanD'Amico199537%E2%80%9339-26" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">[26]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violeta_Chamorro#cite_note-Pallais(1992)-2" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">[2]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violeta_Chamorro#cite_note-Oberdorfer-27" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">[27]</a> Ortega spent large sums of money,<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violeta_Chamorro#cite_note-broke,disorganized,in-fighting-20" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">[20]</a> and strutted around like a "macho rooster", as if the election were already won;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violeta_Chamorro#cite_note-FOOTNOTEBeckmanD'Amico199537%E2%80%9339-26" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">[26]</a> he even used a fighting rooster as the symbol of his campaign.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violeta_Chamorro#cite_note-FOOTNOTESkard2014261-28" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">[28]</a>The United States government was convinced Chamorro could not win without measures to "level the field". The <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_H.W.Bush" title="George H. W. Bush" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">George H. W. Bush</a> 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 abroad<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violeta_Chamorro#cite_note-FOOTNOTEMoreno1994119%E2%80%93121-29" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">[29]</a> to train poll workers and those registering voters,<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violeta_Chamorro#cite_note-$9_million-30" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">[30]</a> election monitoring teams, and as per the provision of foreign donations, $2 million was paid into the Nicaraguan 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.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violeta_Chamorro#cite_note-FOOTNOTEMoreno1994119%E2%80%93121-29" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">[29]</a> 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.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violeta_Chamorro#cite_note-money_not_sent-31" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">[31]</a> The vehicles which were provided for in the aid package arrived in Nicaragua, but due to the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Customs" title="Customs" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">customs</a> director's vacation, the vehicles were not cleared, nor were tags issued for their use.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violeta_Chamorro#cite_note-vehicles_stuck_in_customs-32" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">[32]</a> Three weeks before the election, UNO officials reportedly had received only around $250,000 dollars and accused Ortega's administration of delaying tactics and taking a share off the top. The government countered that the history of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran%E2%80%93Contra_affair" title="Iran–Contra affair" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Iran–Contra affair</a> was a basis for caution and that the US itself was creating delays. Since the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_invasion_of_Panama" title="United States invasion of Panama" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">United States invasion of Panama</a> had frozen Panamanian currency, a spokesperson for the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_Bank_of_Nicaragua" title="Central Bank of Nicaragua" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Central Bank of Nicaragua</a> stated that the Ortega Administration had no access to their funds which were deposited in Panamanian banks.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violeta_Chamorro#cite_note-delays_and_more_delays-22" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">[22]</a>Up to 1990, Nicaragua had lived with forty years of the Somoza dictatorship, through a decade of civil warfare and Sandinista rule,<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violeta_Chamorro#cite_note-Overview_of_regime-33" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">[33]</a> and five years of US imposed economic sanctions.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violeta_Chamorro#cite_note-sanctions-34" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">[34]</a> On 25 February 1990, Chamorro won the election with a 54.7% share of the vote, ousting the incumbent Ortega<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violeta_Chamorro#cite_note-Confidencial-35" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">[35]</a> and becoming the first elected woman president in the Americas.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violeta_Chamorro#cite_note-FOOTNOTESkard2014261-28" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">[28]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violeta_Chamorro#cite_note-37" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">[note 1]</a> Because the election was held in the midst of a civil war, it was important both domestically and internationally that the vote was seen to be legitimate. The <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esquipulas_Peace_Agreement" title="Esquipulas Peace Agreement" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Esquipulas Peace Agreement</a> which had been brokered by Arias, called for monitoring of elections by the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organization_of_American_States" title="Organization of American States" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Organization of American States</a> and the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations" title="United Nations" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">United Nations</a>, among other provisions.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violeta_Chamorro#cite_note-FOOTNOTESanta-Cruz2013113-38" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">[37]</a> The election was the most strictly monitored of any in Latin America<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violeta_Chamorro#cite_note-FOOTNOTESkard2014261-28" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">[28]</a> and involved 2,578 international observers<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violeta_Chamorro#cite_note-FOOTNOTESanta-Cruz201393-39" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">[38]</a> among them former US President Jimmy Carter; <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raul_Alfons%C3%ADn" class="mw-redirect" title="Raul Alfonsín" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Raul Alfonsín</a>, former President of Argentina; <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfonso_L%C3%B3pez_Michelsen" title="Alfonso López Michelsen" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Alfonso López Michelsen</a>, former President of Colombia; <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rodrigo_Carazo_Odio" title="Rodrigo Carazo Odio" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Rodrigo Carazo Odio</a>, former President of Costa Rica and many Caribbean and US dignitaries.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violeta_Chamorro#cite_note-The_Carter_Center-40" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">[39]</a> Ortega and his supporters conceded defeat without argument and observers left only a skeleton staff to assist with the transition of power.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violeta_Chamorro#cite_note-turnover-41" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">[40]</a>In the resulting February 1990 elections, Violeta Chamorro and her party the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Opposition_Union" title="National Opposition Union" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">UNO</a> won an upset victory of 55% to 41% over <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Ortega" title="Daniel Ortega" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Daniel Ortega</a>,<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violeta_Chamorro#cite_note-42" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">[41]</a> even though polls leading up to the election had clearly indicated an FSLN victory.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violeta_Chamorro#cite_note-Envio-43" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">[42]</a>Possible explanations include that the Nicaraguan people were disenchanted with the Ortega government as well as the fact that already in November 1989, the White House had announced that the economic embargo against Nicaragua would continue unless Violeta Chamorro won.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violeta_Chamorro#cite_note-44" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">[43]</a> Also, there had been reports of intimidation from the side of the contras,<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violeta_Chamorro#cite_note-45" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">[44]</a> with a Canadian observer mission claiming that 42 people were killed by the contras in "election violence" in October 1989.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violeta_Chamorro#cite_note-46" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">[45]</a> 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.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violeta_Chamorro#cite_note-Envio-43" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">[42]</a><h2 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); font-family: "Linux Libertine", Georgia, Times, serif; line-height: 1.3;">Presidency (1990-1997)[<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Violeta_Chamorro&action=edit&section=4&editintro=Template:BLP_editintro" title="Edit section: Presidency (1990-1997)" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">edit</a>]</h2><table class="infobox vcard" style="font-size: 12.32px; border: 1px solid rgb(162, 169, 177); border-spacing: 3px; background-color: rgb(248, 249, 250); color: black; margin: 0.5em 0px 0.5em 1em; padding: 0.2em; float: right; clear: right; line-height: 1.5em; width: 22em;"><tbody><tr><th colspan="2" style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center; font-size: 15.4px; font-weight: normal; background-color: rgb(222, 222, 222);">Presidential styles of
Violeta Chamorro</th></tr><tr><td colspan="2" style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center;">
</td></tr><tr><th scope="row" style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Style(manner_of_address)" title="Style (manner of address)" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Reference style</a></th><td style="vertical-align: top;">La Honorable Violeta Chamorro, Presidenta de la República de Nicaragua The Honorable Violeta Chamorro, President of the Republic of Nicaragua</td></tr><tr><th scope="row" style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;">Spoken style</th><td style="vertical-align: top;">Presidenta Chamorro President Chamorro</td></tr><tr><th scope="row" style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;">Alternative style</th><td style="vertical-align: top;">Señora Presidente Madam President</td></tr></tbody></table>Two months after the election, on 25 April 1990, Chamorro was sworn into office. The ceremony, held at the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dennis_Mart%C3%ADnez_National_Stadium" title="Dennis Martínez National Stadium" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Rigoberto López Pérez Stadium</a> 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.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violeta_Chamorro#cite_note-Pallais(1992)-2" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">[2]</a> With the exception of the promise to end the war, Chamorro did not present a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_platform" class="mw-redirect" title="Political platform" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">political platform</a>. UNO had been unable to agree on specifics, as its membership ranged from the far left to the far right, making their plan one of running against whatever the Sandinistas were for. 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 recently invaded Panama and had been heavily involved in Nicaragua, might invade the country.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violeta_Chamorro#cite_note-Pallmeyer_(2006)-47" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">[46]</a> Sandinistan 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.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violeta_Chamorro#cite_note-Sandinistas_lost_touch-25" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">[25]</a><h3 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0.3em 0px 0px; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; border-bottom: 0px; font-size: 1.2em; line-height: 1.6;">Peace reforms</h3><div>...</div>