Junta of National Reconstruction

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The Junta of National Reconstruction (Junta de Gobierno de Reconstrucción Nacional) officially ruled Nicaragua from July 1979 to January 1985, though effective power was in the hands of the Sandinista National Liberation Front's National Directorate.

The Sandinista rebels announced the Junta as its provisional government on June 17, 1979, as the civil war against the Anastasio Somoza Debayle regime entered its final phase. It was composed of five members, with a member of the FSLN directorate, Daniel Ortega; two leftists who secretly were fellow Sandinistas, Sergio Ramírez and Moisés Hassan; and two independents, Alfonso Robelo and Violeta Barrios de Chamorro.

After the fall of Somoza, it quickly became apparent to Robelo and Chamorro that they did not have any real power. Chamorro resigned on April 19, 1980, followed by Robelo three days later. On May 18, they were replaced by Arturo Cruz and Rafael Córdova Rivas. Cruz would resign in March 1981, though he agreed for a time to be ambassador to the United States. On March 4, Cruz's appointment to Washington was announced, together with Hassan's departure for the Council of State and Ortega's naming as Coordinator of the now three-member junta. While the junta may have offered little authority to its non-Sandinista members, the public role did solidify Ortega's primacy within the FSLN directorate, and enhance Ramírez's prominence.

On November 4, 1984, a presidential election was held, which was won by leading junta member and revolutionary Daniel Ortega, with Sergio Ramírez as his vice presidential running mate. However, most opposition parties boycotted it, claiming unfair conditions. While most European observers declared the election to be free and fair, its legitimacy was not accepted in the United States by either the Reagan administration or its liberal critics. Ortega took office on January 10, and the junta was dissolved.