daniel ortega

[reddevil]

he's been in power for two years now. i don't know much about his policies. i was disgusted by his ban on abortion but i still admire him for the way he led the revolution in the 80s. can we still consider him a comrade?

[Yehuda Stern]

Why still? Why would you consider Ortega a comrade in the first place? Unlike Castro, who is also admired by many leftists, Ortega didn't even successfully protect his country from the counterrevolution. The story of the Sandinista regime is very much like Allende's, although much more drawn out and less deadly for its leaders - the government was reformist and could not, and didn't want to, overthrow capitalism, and this eventually enabled the ruling class to topple it.

[bayano]

i don;t think that's a true read on 1980s nicaragua. they did plenty great, and it was a true revolution. the people were taking power throughout the country, economically, socially, politically, militarily. and the counterrevolution was heavy, its strange to write them off for pseudo-defeat in a terrible war that you never experienced.

on the other hand, ortega's (the tercerista faction) was only one of a few factions in the FSLN that existed especially after the death of carlos fonseca. his was arguably significantly less left, and it is difficult to say if his faction was necessary for the triumph of the revolution and toppling of somoza, but there were other tendencies that were more left. ortega was not the greatest sandinista even post-1979, and he has backslided immensenly since the 1980s on a lot of his politics.

the best way to see if ortega's 'a comrade' is to see how the comrades on the ground are able to operate under his second presidency, how revolutionary the situation there is (as compared to nicaragua in the 80s, venezuela or bolivia today). it doesn't look promising at all

[Yehuda Stern]

i don;t think that's a true read on 1980s nicaragua. they did plenty great, and it was a true revolution. the people were taking power throughout the country, economically, socially, politically, militarily. and the counterrevolution was heavy

I'd argue that no, the people were not taking power - a left-wing populist regime was taking power. The counterrevolution was heavy, yes, but then again it was also heavy in Russia, but the Bolsheviks overcame it because they were proletarian revolutionaries who could smash capitalism, unlike the Sandinistas.


its strange to write them off for pseudo-defeat in a terrible war that you never experienced.

Am I missing something? Given the average age on RevLeft and your stated location, I doubt you experienced that 'terrible war.'

[Sprinkles]

No, he is right, pseudo 'communist' basement-dwellers like you have no real experience in constructing and fighting for the dictatorship of the proletariat in the real-world. You incessantly attack all real-world attempts, and you oppose national liberation struggles in the neo-colonial world, and fail to understand the nature of imperialism as modern capitalism.

You might want to make an actual point instead of this useless flaming. Especially since I very much doubt you yourself are posting this from the jungle with an AK slung over your shoulder.

[Yehuda Stern]

You might want to make an actual point instead of this useless flaming. Especially since I very much doubt you yourself are posting this from the jungle with an AK slung over your shoulder.

This is a very good answer to every Stalinist troll. I am not impressed by talk of 'real world activity,' seeing as in my experience those who speak the most about what they do in fact do the least.

[Yehuda Stern]

Please. Guevaraism and Castroism are very popular ideologies among middle class leftists in the first world, and they have always been. Also popular are people like Chavez and Morales with their socialist rhetoric who establish their rule over the workers, not a rule of the workers. This stems from the middle class's hatred of Marxism and the workers.

Of course, when people like Ortega and Allende fail miserably in their nationalist campaigns, little 'radicals' like Alidi are left speechless. They don't care about the thousands of workers who will die because of their cowardly leaders - the prefer not to think at all about the masses, whom they despise.

[Yehuda Stern]

The struggles are good and necessary and I support them. I want them to win, not to be crushed, and that is why I warn against populist leaders who will either crush the workers themselves or prepare the way for someone else.