July 19th - 29th anniversary of the Sandinista Revolution

What was the Sandinista Revolution, and why it matters:

- Nicaragua was ruled by a corrupt family dynasty, the Somozas, for 45 years (1934 -1979), a family that amassed over $400 million while the country languished in poverty.

- Somocismo equaled U.S. power. In other words, it inherently squashed the needs and aspirations of the majority of Nicaraguans. And it could never have lasted without millions of foreign dollars, training, logistical support, and the 20 year Marine occupation that preceeded it.

- After more than a decade of civil war against the Somozas, mounted by various revolutionary organizations (with the Frente Sandinista de Liberación Nacional (FSLN) coming to be the most powerful) the Sandinista Army marched on the capital after Anastasio Somoza Debayle, the original military dictator's son, had fled the country.

- Pursuing a revolutionary agenda of land redistribution, medical reform, a massive literacy campaign, and attempting to establish an agricultural and economic structure based on self-sufficiency rather than colonial dependency, the Sandinista government offered the first chance of real change for this long oppressed place.

(The tragic story of Nicaragua's history is really much longer than just the period of "Somocismo." The Sandinista Revolution offered the chance of overcoming the legacy of colonialism, an enormously bitter burden the country has suffered under in various forms since the 1520s.)

(Then Reagan pumped millions into the terroristic "Contra War" and ruined everything)
SIGH...

A smoking bus of Sandinista supporters leaving Granada for the celebration in Managua, Nicaragua's capital.

Mel and I were lucky enough to be in the country for the 29th anniversary of this momentus event, the only successful large scale revolution that has occured in mainland Central America. It was a crazy/incredible event, with speakers coming from all over Latin America. Hugo Chavez (Venezuela's president), Guatemala's vice president, Cuba's vice president, Salvador Allende's (former president of Chile) grandson, Che Guevara's daughter...

 

 

 Complete and utter spectacle. Constant fireworks even before dark, masses of red hats and shirts. FSLN FSLN FSLN FSLN. ESTE PODER PUEBLO! LA GENTE NO SE DETIENE! Ortega Ortega Ortega!!! At least 50,000 Nicaraguense. Mel stuck out a little bit, I stuck out like a morning tent. Probably the only white male there, plus the long hair and beard.

¡Vivan Los Niños!

 

This man could barely stand.

Then came nighttime.

And everything became even more spectacular. 

 

And 3 people tried to pickpocket my mini-notebook.

There is much I could say. My spanish is still too mediocre to easily understand political speeches. The event was inspiring in a way, and sad in a way. The Sandinista Party, and Daniel Ortega, seems to me are not nearly the same thing as in the 70s and 80s. Power struggles and party politics warp things. The U.S. imposed its terms of acceptable political action through massive violence in the 80s. That limited things to a huge extent. Also...though Chavez and Ortega and others are at least anti-capitalist...it´s still apparent that the language of politics never quite manages to be honest. "¡Somos el pueblo!" (We are the people!) I heard Chavez cry out at some point during his 2 hour too long speech. Political leaders always try to define history and reality in a way that will garner support, not necessarily in a way that enlightens the people. Chavez rode in on a helicopter, not an overstuffed chicken bus. He´s standing on stage, not squished in with fall-down drunks, theifs, and poor/beautiful eyes drastically ranging from brilliantly bright to despondent. Later, he will sleep on a comfortable bed, not a sidewalk or ravaged mattress beside a dirt floor. Political, cultural, social reality doesn't seem to have space for practical gatherings to celebrate a past of amazing possibilities in a healthy and fully honest way. The proclamations of these leftist leaders are far closer to what the world needs than what you could ever find in a large political forum in the U.S. But...

Something very important has been lost.

Hmm...really though, what do I know. Not much at all.