[Marxism] Nicaragua 25 years later: a reply to Lee Sustar

[Nestor Gorojovsky]

Respuesta a: [Marxism] Nicaragua 25 years later:
Remitido por: Louis Proyect
Fecha: Lunes 26 de Julio de 2004 
Hora: 16:25
*****

> While nobody would gainsay the political collapse of the FSLN after
> its ouster and troubling signs just before that point, it is worth
> looking a bit deeper into its rise and fall. There are strong grounds
> to seeing its defeat not so much in terms of its lacking revolutionary
> fiber, but being outgunned by far superior forces. With all
> proportions guarded, a case might be made that Sandinista Nicaragua
> had more in common with the Paris Commune than the Spanish Popular
> Front, which was doomed to failure by the class collaborationist
> policies of the ruling parties.
> 

[...]

> If the nightmare of maquiladoras and declining economic expectations
> is to be reversed, it will come as a result of more favorable
> objective circumstances in Latin America and Central America
> generally. With the rise of Hugo Chavez and the continuing resilience
> of the Colombian guerrillas, that day may be coming sooner rather than
> later. -- 

I have been reading and thinking lots on Nicaragua lately.  And yes, 
I am arriving at similar conclusions.

If I had to make a single criticism to the Nicaraguan leadership, it 
is that they were _too_ "leftist" not to call the ominous and 
criminal attention of the US.  Could they have acted otherwise?  This 
is something to be debated.  

But the fact that this revolution got to power at the same time that 
a general decay of the revolutionary wave had begun the world over 
should be taken into account.  Perhaps a less "socialistic", more 
"simply plainly patriotic" regime could have spared them many 
tragedies, while waiting in power for better years to come.  The 
Nicaraguan masses would have understood it.  Not the "leftists", but 
what the heck with those "leftists".

The Nicaraguan revolutionaries had the terrible experience of gaining 
a revolutionary power in a small splinter of a great nation (Latin 
America) that was submerged in a general reactionary wave, and this 
was crucial for they could not depend on any other help in that 
international environment.  They were crushed in the same way not 
only of the Paris Commune, but also of Greek guerrillas in 1945 (the 
USSR, in both cases, was less than useless to defend the 
revolutions), and also the Riego revolution in Spain, 1821 (to give 
just one example of the long trail of revolutions in Spain which 
found themselves isolated in an asphyxiating environment).

The Latin American governments managed to get a Contadora, which was 
a lot for the times.  

It is possible that a new environment helps Ortega in power now.  Let 
us be optimistic.  New air is entering this stale closed room of 
Central America.  The Revolution will spurt out through the most 
unexpected channels.  Both some "contra" and many Sandinistas are 
convinced that they were, in the end, functional to the Nicaraguan 
oligarchy (Sand. against Somoza, Contra against Sand.) and this may 
prove seismic in a new context.  Seismic for the oligarchy, I mean.

Néstor Miguel Gorojovsky
nestorgoro at fibertel.com.ar

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"Sí, una sola debe ser la patria de los sudamericanos".
Simón Bolívar al gobierno secesionista y disgregador de 
Buenos Aires, 1822
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