Managua, Nicaragua – Thousands of FSLN (Frente Sandinista de Liberación Nacional) youth and militants filled the Plaza de la Revolución in Managua, Nicaragua to celebrate the 43rd anniversary of the Sandinista Popular Revolution, which triumphed on July 19, 1979. Thousands more filled the Managua city center, chanting, dancing and waving the flags of Nicaragua and the FSLN.

With revolutionary dance and songs, the crowd enthusiastically chanted militant slogans in Spanish like “Esta patria no se rinde, se defiende,” meaning, “This nation does not surrender, it defends the nation.”

The event included many beautiful inspirational songs, dances of the revolutionary struggle of Nicaragua. The plaza was decorated with images on Agosto Sandino, the Nicaraguan revolutionary leader who defeated the U.S. Marines in the 1930s.

The Frente Sandinista de Liberación Nacional takes its name from Sandino, who is the country’s national hero. The FSLN successfully fought the brutal U.S.-backed Somoza dictatorship till victory on July 19, 1979.

In response to imperialism’s defeat in Nicaragua, the U.S. funded and controlled the Contras to curtail the Nicaraguan revolution. The Contra War culminated in the FSLN’s electoral defeat in 1990. The reactionary governments that followed the first stage of the revolution privatized the victories of the Nicaraguan people during the 1980s and rolled back social progress.

Since returning to power in 2007, the FSLN government with the leadership of President Daniel Ortega has built a national healthcare system, free public education from early age to high school, among other advances. It managed to develop an agricultural economy to provide for its people and for exportation. It continues to build and improve its infrastructure also, with new highways and lower COVID-19 deaths.

But the U.S. government imposes unjust sanctions against Nicaragua. Talking to people during the celebration, one young man said that all they wanted for the people of Nicaragua was peace and respect to be able to run their own country.

It is clear that the FSLN and its leadership have the support of the masses of the Nicaraguan people. We here in the U.S. must pressure the government to end the sanctions against Nicaragua, Venezuela and Cuba.

#ManaguaNicaragua #Managua #Nicaragua #SandinistaNationalLiberationFrontFSLN #Americas

Tucson, AZ – For a small, largely agricultural country, Nicaragua has delivered several losses to the much larger, more militarily advanced U.S. empire. From Augusto Sandino’s peasant army expelling the U.S. Marines in the 1930s, to the Sandinista Revolution of 1979 that toppled the U.S.-backed Somoza dictatorship, to the electoral return of the Sandinistas in 2006, to the defeat of the U.S.-coordinated soft coup attempt in 2018, the 2021 elections are another win for people of Nicaragua.

With over 65% of eligible voters participating, the Frente Sandinista de Liberación Nacional (FSLN) won the presidency and vice presidency with a resounding 76% on November 7. In a country of 6.3 million people, the FSLN is immensely popular, with over 2 million registered party members. This election took place under the continued threat of more sanctions from the declining U.S. empire.

The U.S., through the CIA’s National Endowment for Democracy (NED), routinely funnels millions of taxpayer dollars to fund opposition groups and influence media narratives to undermine the FSLN. These opposition groups and media drove a campaign in the months leading up to November’s elections to slander President Ortega and question the legitimacy of the voting process. On top of that, in recent weeks, the U.S. government cooked up new sanctions as a threat to Nicaraguans: vote out the Sandinistas or we’ll make the economy scream. Considering the results of the election, they failed miserably. Again.

Since ending the 16-year reign of neoliberal privatization of public services by winning the presidency in 2006, the FSLN has achieved numerous important victories in the service of their people. By having a national democratic orientation, the FSLN has helped Nicaragua construct dozens of hospitals, procure ambulances and fire trucks, reinstate free public education, lower mortality rates for infants and mothers, once again eliminate illiteracy, build public housing, offer zero-interest loans, provide subsidized electricity, reduce violent crime and drugs, and enhance their food sovereignty.

It is no mystery why the FSLN won in such a big way – the people of Nicaragua are proud of the accomplishments and determined to forge their future free of U.S. domination.

#Nicaragua #PeoplesStruggles #SandinistaNationalLiberationFrontFSLN #Americas

Fight Back!: What organization are you a member of?

Rosalía Bohórquez: Sandinista Youth

Fight Back!: How has the experience with COVID-19 been in Nicaragua?

Bohórquez: Nicaragua took a preventive attitude since the very beginning of the global pandemic. Thanks to the public health system, a community model, we succeeded in an awareness campaign by going house to house, neighborhood by neighborhood all over the country.

Alongside this campaign, the government began a health mapping process to identify areas with the greatest risk of infection. This allowed the health authorities to gain greater control over potential spreading. From the first case of COVID-19, the government activated and implemented all the necessary sanitary protocols.

Thanks to the devoted capacity of the government and the awareness campaign, Nicaragua did not have a high number of deaths related to COVID-19. Also, because of this success, there were no social or economic restrictions, so Nicaraguans could live a normal life for the most part and we did not let the economy drop and hurt the country.

Fight Back!: What has the government done since the attempted U.S.-backed coup in 2018?

Bohórquez: Since the defeat of the attempted coup, the government implemented the National Law of Reconciliation and Dialogue to unify the people, many of who were truly manipulated by the right-wing press. In practice, this dialogue for peace took place in each neighborhood around the country.

The main work is to rebuild all that was destroyed by the coup plotters. However, the intentions to harm the country took place under the noses of many Nicaraguans without many realizing it. It was discovered that the main enemy of the people, the coup plotters, were financed by institutions from the U.S. government through NGOs. They took their directives from the U.S. to create chaos and destroy the country and they made a lot of money to do it.

There has been a lot of noise about the Ortega government cutting funding for NGOs but the president is simply using a pre-existing law about foreign interference in national elections and reinforcing its implementation.

Fight Back!: After the U.S. coup attempt in 2018, how does the road to the national elections in November look?

Bohórquez: The Nicaraguan electoral process is a wide-reaching effort that is participatory and democratic. There have been important reforms made that will allow more equal participation, more balanced for gender, for all Nicaraguans. Recently, new leaders were chosen to the Supreme Electoral Council; it is worth mentioning that this body is backed by the power of the state with constitutional guarantees. From now until November, the main work is to activate the local authorities in this electoral process, to pull the whole country together towards this election.

Nicaraguan people want to live in peace and continue to live how we were before the U.S.-backed coup attempt. That is why we are working hard to have a peaceful electoral process. With this approach, the majority at the polls know that only the FSLN will continue to improve and transform Nicaragua.

#UnitedStates #Americas #PeoplesStruggles #Nicaragua #SandinistaNationalLiberationFrontFSLN

In January, Fight Back! reporters participated in the World Anti-Imperialist Gathering in Caracas, Venezuela. While there, they interviewed delegates from several countries. Here’s an interview with a leader of the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) and a member of the National Union of Nicaraguan Students (UNEN), Rosalía Bohórquez. Bohórquez delivers a message to working people and progressive people in the United States. Rosalía Bohórquez: My name is Rosalía Bohórquez. I'm Nicaraguan and a member of the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN). I'm also a student and a member of the National Union of Nicaraguan Students (UNEN).

We're here in Venezuela at this anti-imperialist gathering, and we'd like to call on the people of the United States to say no to the lies and to say no to the fake news of the hegemonic power’s media manipulations. We know very well that the hegemonic power has the economic power – the transnationals that clearly are behind the lies that attack Venezuela, that attack Nicaragua and that attack Cuba.

The biggest thing I’d say to the people of the United States is that they join in this struggle, and above all that they engage in an ongoing solidarity campaign with us, the peoples of our America who have been victimized.

In Nicaragua we've managed to break through the media obstacles many times because we speak the truth. The truth is that Nicaragua is progressing. Nicaragua gives students free quality education. We've made advances in development and we also have free public health care. We have production surpluses. We've achieved women's empowerment.

Although Nicaragua is one of the poorest countries in Latin America, it more has one of the strongest economies in Central America after Panama, even though they tried to destroy our economy in 2018 with an attempted coup d’état which didn't succeed.

Because we as Nicaraguans are willing to struggle and willing to combat the poverty that neoliberal governments have imposed on us, financed by the Yankee imperialists.

As Nicaraguans, we will keep moving forward until we win, like Sandino taught us.

#CaracasVenezuela #Caracas #AntiwarMovement #StudentMovement #OppressedNationalities #Venezuela #Opinion #Americas #PeoplesStruggles #Interviews #Nicaragua #WorldAntiImperialistCongress #SandinistaNationalLiberationFrontFSLN #NationalUnionOfNicaraguanStudentsUNEN