I don’t really have much comment here. Nicaragua was a squalid, miserable little country in the ’80s when the US refused to abandon its grip on the place after Uncle Sam’s man, Somoza, went down. Sure there were the 8 years of Reagan to blame for this, but did Jimmy Carter ever open his mouth in any real protest? Did the Democratic Party help Nicaragua defend itself from the Republican thugs? Did the Sandinistas ever really have a chance? All the answers are… NO.
Just like the American union movement, the people of Nicaragua got run over as a result of Reaganism in action, and the Democratic Party in inaction. Today, the country has a population the size of the Dallas-Fort Worth metro area, living lives of pure misery. Only Haiti suffers a worse fate in the Hemisphere. America has crammed capitalism and its corruption down the throats of the people living in this sad country, and continues to hold its grip on all of Nicaragua’s affairs. Sadly, the recent elections there offer little hope for change. For the best article about Ortega’s victory and what it means for future hopes, go to Counterpunch and skip past the fundraising pitch to the article by Joe Raymond afterwards. The Strange Return of Daniel Ortega
