Nicaragua Solidarity Coalition 8.18.2026: Webinar Series: Governing From Below; Historic 1969 FSLN Program; Fidel Castro’s Speech in Managua July 19, 1980

The Sandinistas’ Work During the 16 Years of Governing from Below Enabled them to Regain Power  Don’t miss a 5-part webinar series. Many revolutions or socialist governments existed the 1970s besides Nicaragua that later lost power or abandoned their socialist ideology by the 1990s. These include Mozambique, Angola, Zimbabwe, Guinea Bissau, Guinea, Tanzania, Congo (Stanleyville), Afghanistan, Grenada, almost in El Salvador, Portugal, Spain, and Ethiopia. In addition, the Communist Soviet Union collapsed (now 15 countries), along with East Germany, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, and Albania. 

‍When the Sandinistas lost the 1990 election these other socialist leaderships were already disintegrating or had already been overturned. Only the Sandinistas continued the struggle and once again arose to retake power and implement their original program. What revolutionary lessons does this experience provide? What abilities did they possess, what practices did they employ, that make them unique among the socialist movements of these 23 countries? 

These questions will be discussed by the Nicaragua Co-Foreign Minister in an August 23 webinar to introduce a four-part webinar series in September, “Governing From Below, Lessons from Nicaragua’s Neoliberal Years, 1990-2006.” After losing the 1990 election, Nicaragua’s Frente Sandinista de Liberación Nacional (FSLN) vowed to “govern from below.” The series will delve into how the FSLN during these years worked closely with its grassroots base in unions, student groups, and women’s, peasants, and communal movements to pressure the neoliberal governments and eventually return to power. 

‍‍1969 Historic Program of the FSLNA very detailed, very well thought-out program. It is useful to read and see what they have fulfilled or not fulfilled. Some, like the sections on women and the Atlantic Coast peoples, they have over fulfilled. Section 1.H. has relevance right now: “Those individuals who occupy high political posts as a result of rigged elections and military coups will be stripped of their political rights.”

‍Short video of new Fidel Castro monument in ManaguaIt was erected to honor the 100th year of his birth.

‍‍Fidel Castro Speech in Managua, July 19, 1980 I will not hide the fact that deep emotion overwhelmed me yesterday at noon when I arrived in this country…you are a profoundly revolutionary peoples, we the Cuban visitors feel as if we were in our own fatherland…the Sandinistas and the members of the Government of National Reconstruction. They prepared the strategy. The prepared the tactics of struggle and gradually improved them. They were able to lead all the people. They are not vanguards because they want to call themselves vanguard. They are vanguards because they knew how to gain the place of vanguard in history and in the struggle of their people.

‍There are some who presume to tell the Sandinistas what to do. We will never presume to tell the Sandinistas what they should do, giving and offering them uncalled-for advice… And we are not here to teach or influence. We are here to humbly learn and to be influenced. And we are certain that the Sandinista revolution will teach us many things. That the Sandinista revolution will influence us greatly, just as we are certain that its example will greatly influence the rest of Latin America.

I recall that in the last days of the war, and the first days of the triumph, the Nicaraguan revolution aroused enormous sympathy worldwide, and there was much talk about the aid the Nicaraguan people required. There was talk of billions of dollars--billions--not only to reconstruct the country but also to face the huge debt that Somocism left behind. To face up to all that in the midst of all the destruction required a great deal of international aid. But it pains us to see that now, a year later, the effective aid received to date by Nicaragua is only some tens of millions of dollars. We proposed almost a year ago that an emulation among all the countries was needed to see which helped Nicaragua the most.

‍Concern is very deep all over the world, among the most serious and sensible people in the world, especially after hearing the agreements and platform of the U.S. Republican Party--a terrible platform that is a threat to peace. A terrible platform that threatens to apply once more the big stick to Latin America…The concern is great all over the world, and that is why it behooves all to do everything within our reach to confront those policies and to fight to safeguard peace. We find ourselves in a situation such that we have to practically fight to safeguard peace.

Co-President Rosario Murillo: We Make History All Together in Times of Victories‍ ‍“It is up to us to protect, to continue protecting in our Nicaragua, the Stability, Security, Peace and Tranquility which we have tended so carefully and which we prioritize in order to continue effectively waging the Battles against Poverty, Misery, the degradation of Hatred, and the tragedy of permanent Conflict.  …we continue to work and to take the necessary steps to continue creating the best possible conditions to be able to advance in Peace; to advance in Fullness and Rights for All, for the Good of All.

‍‍We have been creating all the conditions to recover and continue recovering from the times of negativity, and disunity, to leave behind the times of disunity, and this represents a great challenge in this convulsed World, a great challenge. We build, and we continue to build, in Peace and Goodness, our Horizons of Well-being, with the challenge of ensuring the Power, the Union and the Good of Everyone, as a permanent goal.

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Upcoming Events

‍‍‍August 23, 3 pm ET webinar: Nicaraguan Foreign Minister Valdrack Jaentschke “Preserving the Nicaraguan Revolution during the Neoliberal Years” English and Spanish interpretation available. ‍After losing elections in 1990, the FSLN vowed to “govern from below.” Over the next 17 years, 3 US-‍backed neoliberal governments privatized programs, and the poor suffered greatly. But the FSLN worked ‍closely with its grassroots base to help people survive, organize, influence, and eventually return to ‍power. The Co-Foreign Minister will give us an overview of this period. Register in advance: bit.ly/NicaAug23.

‍‍‍‍‍September 3, 10, 17, 23: Governing from Below: Nicaragua During the Neoliberal Years A course ‍comprising four 2-hour classes on Thursday evenings, to probe more deeply into the FSLN’s work following the loss of the elections in 1990. Nicaragua’s Frente Sandinista de Liberación Nacional (FSLN) vowed to “govern from below.” Over the next 16 years the FSLN worked closely with its grassroots base through unions, student groups, and social movements to influence the national government and eventually return to power. The FSLN’s experiences in opposition to neoliberal governance provide important lessons for activists around the world working to effect change. Register in advance: bit.ly/NicaSept

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Delegations to Nicaragua: 2027 Casa Ben Linder Nicaragua Tours

‍‍Feb 13-19 Bird Brigade – birding in Solentiname and Rio San Juan‍  ‍

‍‍March 6-14 Power and Protagonism: Women in Nicaragua – meet with women in leadership roles – cooperatives, labor unions, peasant feminists, and artisans to explore gender equity in Nicaragua

‍April 22-30 Light and Legacy: Ben Linder Brigade – Commemorate 40 years since the assassination of U.S. solidarity worker Ben Linder by U.S.-funded contra forces

‍‍‍‍May 21-June 1 Mayo Ya – Cultural tour to the Southern Autonomous Region of the Caribbean Coast, which is the heart of Nicaragua’s Indigenous and Afro-descendant communities.

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‍‍‍Nicaragua Solidarity Coalition: nicasolidarity.com‍ ‍ ‍

‍Monthly meetings of the Nicaragua Solidarity Coalition are held on Zoom on the second Monday of each month at 2:30pm Eastern/ 11:30am Pacific time. The next meeting: Monday, September 14.

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