When the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) revolution triumphed in Nicaragua on July 19, 1979, the people filled the streets with joy as 45 years of destruction remained under the yoke of the Somoza military dictatorship.
The days that followed were like “touching the sky with your hands,” one of the founders of the FSLN, Commander Tomás Borge (1930-2012), once said.
It was the last armed revolution in Latin America and the Caribbean after the Mexican (1910) and Cuban (1959) whose main goal was to empower the people and eradicate poverty. Then one of the most difficult parts of this process began: saving Nicaragua from oblivion.
Under this principle, the national literacy campaign began in the largest country in Central America, with which the illiteracy rate was reduced from 50 to 12 percent.
Ensuring health and education for the people, rescuing thousands of families from abject poverty, distributing land to the peasants, restoring culture, memory and identity were also part of the Sandinista project.
“(…) All these gigantic efforts have been stimulated by the help of many countries in solidarity with this people. Doctors, teachers, technicians, donations of all kinds; Loans from international organizations have helped ease the heavy burden of exploitation and pillage,” President Daniel Ortega said in 1980 on the first anniversary of the Sandinista victory.
The triumph of this revolution 20 years after the Cuban Revolution sparked fear of the regime of US President Ronald Reagan (1911-2004). For this reason, the White House covert war very soon began with the support of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in collusion with hundreds of mercenaries concentrated in “the contras”.
Despite all actions to overthrow Sandinismo, the US did not achieve its goals by armed means, although the FSLN lost the 1990 elections due to widespread terrorist killings and, with the support of Washington and the CIA, Violeta Barrios was elected President. . .
But the FSLN, led by Daniel Ortega, returned to power in 2007 after 16 years of neoliberal rule.
socio-economic achievements
Since that date, the Sandinista government has continued to cultivate the socio-economic gains begun earlier, with investments focusing on sectors such as health, education, electricity, drinking water and roads, among others.
Over the past 15 years, the health program implemented by the Nicaraguan executive has strengthened the health system of the Central American country and guaranteed the restoration of families’ rights.
Recently, the Minister of this department, Martha Reyes, highlighted how the health units have grown throughout the national territory since 2007 and currently comprise a total of 1,596 centers.
According to the Ministry of Health, 22 hospitals have been built to date, two of which are nationwide, one departmental hospital and 19 for primary care, as well as a clinical center for the care of people living with HIV/AIDS.
Child Development Centers (CDI) increased in the country and from 30 registered in 2006 there is currently a network of more than 270 nationwide serving more than 15,000 children aged 45 days to six years.
Likewise, official data shows that by 2021, enrollment in the various educational modalities in Nicaragua will have exceeded one million 800,000 290 students. This period also saw multi-million dollar investments in improving and building schools nationally.
Finance and Public Credit Minister Iván Acosta highlighted the management of the FSLN government, stating that it has invested the most in productive infrastructure. “Now the country has more than 5,000 kilometers of roads in good condition, connecting all communities and helping mobilize manufacturing and exports,” he said.
Referring to the nationwide expansion of electricity supply, Acosta today named a jump from 54 to 99.2 percent.
On the other hand, the Bismarck-Martínez program also stands out, a government initiative launched in 2018 that aims to provide decent housing for thousands of Nicaraguan families.
Look to the future
“The 1979 victory laid the foundations for a nation state with social justice and empowered classes. Also, the Atlantic coast was given autonomy, which strengthened the country’s national unity,” an analyst told Prensa Latina.
In his opinion, in the next 10 years Nicaragua will embark on a path of very solid accelerated growth and on its own terms because of its relationship with China. “It will continue to avoid all of the turbulent waters of this story and the big challenge is seeing how it fits into this multipolar reality that is emerging,” he stressed.
According to the director of the Regional Center for International Studies, Manuel Espinoza, the United States is the main danger because “its authorities are not sleeping because of the destabilization of Nicaragua, especially because of the crushing of Sandinismo”.
Whatever the future of the land of lakes and volcanoes, the truth is that the Sandinista Revolution is 43 years old and has a president whose government has the backing of 77.3 percent of the population, according to the latest opinion poll.