Ronald Radosh
NICARAGUAN MYTHS
At the time of this writing, the Sandinista front which
governs Nicaragua has just announced the total suspension of all civil
liberties and political rights, including what they call the right "to
seek, receive and spread information and ideas." One can imagine
the frustration felt by Interior Minister Tomas Borge, who must be–
moan his inability to prevent the holding of ideas - and who must be
content with using his authority to implement the new edict. The
friends of the Nicaraguan Revolution have argued, as some U.S . cit–
izens told Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega at New York's Ethical
Culture Society, that such restrictions on liberty were a necessary
temporary measure, solely the result of the United States sponsored
aggression against the country and its quest for independence.
With the appearance of Shirley Christian's important new book,
1
there is no longer any excuse for advancing that particular argument.
Her main thesis, proved through close analysis of how the Sandinistas
came to power, and what they did once in power, shows conclusively
that "the leaders of the Sandinista Front intended to establish a Lenin–
ist system from the day they marched into Managua, whether they
called it that or not. Their goal was to assure themselves the means
to control nearly every aspect of Nicaraguan life, from beans and rice
to religion ." Christian points in particular to two documents: the text
of a report on the secret September 1979 meeting of eighty-one top
Sandinistas , which made clear that the alliance with non-Marxist
opponents of Somoza was only an "alliance of convenience." The
FSLN leaders stressed the need "to appear reasonable during" the
"intermediate" period, after which they would move at more appro–
priate moments to institute a Cuban-Soviet model state structure.
The second document cited is the speech of army commander Hum–
berto Ortega to his troops in 1981, the key portions of which were
expurgated for public citation by the FSLN, but in which the chief
commandante
told his troops, "We are guided by the scientific doctrine
of the revolution, by Marxism-Leninism . .. the instrument of anal-
1.
Nicaragua: Revolution in the Family.
By Shirley Christian. Random House. $19 .95.
