PRINCETON – Notable labor activist Daniel La Botz spoke on Tuesday, September 25 in East Pyne, offering his perspective on the 1979 Nicaraguan revolution. In addition to his time spent advocating for workers’ rights as part of Teamsters for a Democratic Union, La Botz is also a member of Solidarity, a democratic socialist group. Alongside his activism, La Botz was a candidate to represent Ohio in the United States Senate during the 2010 midterm elections, garnering 0.68% of the votes.
La Botz’s presentation was a summary of the history he recounts in his book, What Went Wrong? The Nicaraguan Revolution: A Marxist Analysis. He addressed what he believes to be the three greatest mistakes committed by the revolutionary Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN). La Botz concluded by providing his insight in to the current popular uprising in Nicaragua.
During the late 1970s, the Nicaraguan revolution became a beacon of hope for discouraged socialists all over the world. La Botz described being frustrated at the time with the lack of countries looking to seriously implement principles of socialism and democracy. Inspired by potential of the Sandinistas, La Botz organized a medical shipment to the revolutionary forces, and escorted the supplies personally to Nicaragua. La Botz added that he was not unique in these efforts—socialists from all over the world had come to support the revolution against the despotic regime of the Somoza family. As the world was watching, the FSLN made advances in rural Nicaragua, forcing abdication of then-dictator Anastasio Somoza. On July 19, 1979, the FSLN entered the capital city of Managua and declared victory for the revolution.
Despite their initial successes, La Botz asserted that the Sandinista government did not continue to enjoy popular support from the country’s working class. He enumerated what he sees to have been causes of the government’s failure to establish a genuine socialist state: a) unwillingness to give the working class ownership of the land on which they worked, b) tense and sometimes violent interactions with indigenous peoples and minorities, and c) implementation of a military draft.
La Botz connected these choices on the part of the Sandinistas to the Front’s fall from grace. With backing from then-US President Ronald Reagan, the FSLN’s opponents united to create a counter-revolutionary force known as the Contras. The FSLN became increasingly unpopular as the contras grew in strength, and elections in 1990 removed the Sandinistas from power. Despite this serious political blow, revolutionary leader Daniel Ortega remained influential in his party and the country’s military. After the elections of 2006, the FSLN again took power and their candidate, Ortega, ascended to the presidency, where he has remained to this day.
As President, Ortega’s growing personal wealth has not endeared him to ordinary Nicaraguans. La Botz condemned Ortega’s controversial financial ties with Nicaragua’s business class. Recently, the government announced cuts to pension plans and social security that sparked a round of demonstrations against the President, drawing crowds of both elderly pensioners and student activists. The Nicaraguan government responded to the dissent with violence, authorizing paramilitary forces to fire live ammunition on protesters.
As of the time of this writing, hundreds of Nicaraguan citizens have been killed by military troops. Ortega’s aggressive response to demonstrators has driven some Nicaraguans into neighboring countries like Costa Rica, whose immigration agencies have been overwhelmed by refugees seeking asylum. The Trump administration has denied Nicaraguan refugees temporary protected status in the United States, and has threatened to deport those who have braved the journey. The protests in Nicaragua continue, with an overwhelming majority of the populace demanding Ortega’s resignation. La Botz voiced his support for these popular protests, believing that Ortega has been out of step with Socialist principles for too long. For now, the future of Nicaragua and its revolution remains unclear.
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