Luis Alfonso Robelo Callejas (born October 11, 1939),is a
Nicaraguan businessman, was the founder of the
Nicaraguan Democratic Movement (MDN).
Early life and education
Luis Alfonso Robelo Callejas was born in Leon, Nicaragua on October 11, 1939. He grew up in a wealthy family and inherited a profitable vegetable oil company. He earned a degree in chemical engineering at
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in
Troy, New York
Troy is a city in the U.S. state of New York and the county seat of Rensselaer County. The city is located on the western edge of Rensselaer County and on the eastern bank of the Hudson River. Troy has close ties to the nearby cities of Albany ...
in 1961.
He is a member of the Latino fraternity
Phi Iota Alpha
Phi Iota Alpha (), established on December 26, 1931, is the oldest Latino Fraternity in existence, and works to motivate people, develop leaders, and create innovative ways to unite the Latino community. The organization has roots that stem back ...
, the oldest inter-collegiate Greek-letter organization established for Latino Americans.
Career
Robelo was rector of the
University of Central America from 1970 to 1972 and President of the
Nicaraguan Chamber of Commerce until 1975. He then headed the
Nicaraguan Development Institute, long active in the development of independent agricultural and small business cooperatives.
Political engagement
Following the assassination of
''La Prensa'' editor
Pedro Joaquin Chamorro Cardenal in 1978, which turned sympathies against the
Somoza regime, Robelo cofounded the
Nicaraguan Democratic Movement, a social-democratic political party of businessmen, industrialists, and professionals opposed to the current government. A leader and main spokesman for FAO working openly against the regime, he was arrested and publicly labeled a "subversive" by Somoza.
Following the revolution, Robelo was one of the "moderates" on the five-member
Junta of National Reconstruction intended rule Nicaragua after the overthrow of
Anastasio Somoza Debayle.
However, Robelo found that the real power lay with the FSLN National Directorate.
Resigned in April 1980 because of the Marxist tendencies in the FSLN-dominated government and the growing Cuban influence in the country. Became President of the Democratic Coordinating Board. Harassed by the FSLN after his resignation from the junta and detained by the Sandinistas when he sought to travel abroad in 1982, he was finally forced into exile later that year, and his property was confiscated. In 1982, he joined with Edén Pastora and others in founding the ARDE, seeking to achieve the original democratic goals of the revolution.
After resigning from the Junta on April 22, 1981, Robelo went into exile in 1982. He brought his MDN into
Edén Pastora
Edén Atanacio Pastora Gómez (November 15, 1936 or January 22, 1937 – June 16, 2020) was a Nicaraguan politician and guerrilla who ran for president as the candidate of the Alternative for Change (AC) party in the 2006 general elections. I ...
's rebel
Democratic Revolutionary Alliance. Later, he split with Pastora, and joined the
United Nicaraguan Opposition
The United Nicaraguan Opposition (''Unidad Nicaragüense Opositora'', UNO) was a Nicaraguan rebel umbrella group formed in 1985, led by the triumvirate of Adolfo Calero, Alfonso Robelo, and Arturo Cruz. However, the great majority of UNO's milita ...
(UNO) with
Arturo Cruz, and
Adolfo Calero
Adolfo Calero Portocarrero (December 22, 1931 – June 2, 2012) was a Nicaraguan businessman and the leader of the Nicaraguan Democratic Force, the largest rebel group of the Contras, opposing the Sandinista government.
Calero was respons ...
of the
Nicaraguan Democratic Force
The Nicaraguan Democratic Force (', or FDN) was one of the earliest Contra groups, formed on August 11, 1981 in Guatemala City. It was formed to oppose Nicaragua's revolutionary Sandinista government following the 1979 overthrow of Anastasio Somo ...
. After UNO's collapse, he joined the directorate of the new
Contra
Contra may refer to:
Places
* Contra, Virginia
* Contra Costa Canal, an aqueduct in the U.S. state of California
* Contra Costa County, California
* Tenero-Contra, a municipality in the district of Locarno in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland ...
umbrella group, the
Nicaraguan Resistance
The Nicaraguan Resistance (', RN) was the last and arguably most successful effort to unify Nicaragua's rebel Contras into a single umbrella organization. It was established in May 1987, after the United Nicaraguan Opposition (UNO) floundered.
Th ...
, in May 1987.
Following the
Esquipulas accord, President
Oscar Arias of Costa Rica announced in January 1988 that Contra leaders could no longer live in his country. With his pregnant wife opposing a move from Costa Rica, he resigned from the directorate in early 1988.
The post-Sandinista government of
Violeta Chamorro
Violeta Barrios Torres de Chamorro (; 18 October 1929) is a Nicaraguan politician who served as President of Nicaragua from 1990 to 1997. She was the first and, as of 2022, only woman to hold the position of president of Nicaragua.
Born into ...
appointed Robelo to be ambassador to Costa Rica. In 1993, he was taken hostage during a standoff at the embassy.
Personal life
During the political turmoil, Robelo's first marriage, to Indiana Cardenal Caldera, ended in divorce. They had four children: Indiana Margarita, Luis Alfonso (who died at a year and a half old), Eliza, and Alejandra.
He remarried a Costa Rican.
References
External links
''The Nicaraguan democratic struggle: our unfinished revolution''A speech Robelo made to the
Social Democrats, USA
Social Democrats, USA (SDUSA) is a small political association of social democrats founded in 1972. The Socialist Party of America (SPA) had stopped running independent presidential candidates and consequently the term "party" in the SPA's na ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Robelo, Alfonso
Nicaraguan diplomats
Nicaraguan businesspeople
Contras
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute alumni
1939 births
Living people
Nicaraguan Democratic Movement politicians
Ambassadors of Nicaragua to Costa Rica
People of the Nicaraguan Revolution