Stalin Vladimir Centeno, Stalin Magazine, May 19, 2025
Sandinismo is not a moment, it is not a frozen ideology, it is not a passing fad. Sandinismo is a flame that was born in the mountains, endured in the cities, and today governs with dignity. It has deep roots: the rebellious dignity of Sandino, the strategic intelligence of Carlos Fonseca, the courageous blood of the fallen, and the daily encouragement of the people who refuse to surrender. In Nicaragua, to speak of Sandinismo is to speak of identity, sovereignty, homeland, present, and future.
It all began with a peasant, enlightened by his love for his land and hatred of the invader. Augusto C. Sandino raised the banner of national dignity against the US occupation in 1927. With no resources other than his courage, his fiery pen, and the support of the humble, he founded an army of conscience, not of uniform. His struggle was not merely military: it was moral, ethical, and spiritual. He confronted the most powerful empire in the world with machetes, rifles, and words. And although they assassinated him in 1934, they could not extinguish his example. Sandino became a sacred symbol, an underground fire that would continue to burn in the conscience of the Nicaraguan people.
That fire was picked up by Carlos Fonseca Amador, who knew how to translate Sandino’s legacy into a revolutionary political project. Carlos didn’t improvise: he studied, organized, and fought. He founded the Sandinista National Liberation Front in 1961, convinced that only an organized people could overthrow the Somoza regime. He didn’t talk about changing names, but rather about changing structures. With him, Sandinismo became science, struggle, strategy, and above all, revolutionary faith.
The path was neither short nor easy. There were years of clandestinity, imprisonment, exile, and deaths. But the people never gave up hope. From indigenous communities to urban neighborhoods, from universities to coffee plantations, Sandinismo became a network of resistance. In July 1979, after years of tenacious struggle, the popular combatants entered Managua. It was not an improvised takeover: it was the climax of a prolonged, organized, and courageous insurrection, filled with martyrs and convictions.
With the Revolution in power, Sandinismo began to build the country that Somoza had denied the people: mass literacy, free healthcare, nationalization of resources, militant internationalism, respect for peasants and workers. And in response, the empire’s punishment came: dirty war, counterrevolution, blockade, death. But the Sandinista Front did not yield. It resisted with dignity, defended itself with its soul, and stood by the people.
The 1990 electoral defeat wasn’t the end. It was a pause imposed by lies, misinformation, and blackmail. But Sandinismo didn’t leave the hearts of the people. It lived on in the neighborhoods, in the cooperatives, in the murals, in the memories. And with the guidance of steadfast and visionary leaders like our comrade Rosario Murillo, who knew how to sustain the mystique, the culture, the community organization, and the revolutionary spirit, the flame not only survived but grew stronger.
In 2007, the Sandinista Front returned to power with Compañera Rosario and Commander Daniel Ortega as the government, and the people once again felt the Revolution breathing. Free healthcare was restored, social programs multiplied, more roads were built, potable water was introduced, energy subsidies for public transportation, more jobs, more security, peace was established, education was dignified, and the family, women, and youth were restored to their leading role. The homeland spoke loudly again. Nicaragua stopped begging and began to walk with its head held high.
Modern Sandinismo knew how to blend its historical legacy with its current vision, without betraying or surrendering.
Today, in May 2025, Sandinismo governs with legitimacy and love for the homeland. Not as a simple administration, but as a moral force. It is a national, Christian, socialist, and supportive project that has withstood pandemics, coup attempts, damned sanctions, hurricanes, slander, and betrayals. And it hasn’t retreated one millimeter. Because strength doesn’t come from abroad, but from the depths of its people.
The red and black flag of the Sandinista National Liberation Front is not just a political emblem: it is a historic cry. The red represents the brave blood of thousands of Nicaraguans who have offered their lives for freedom and justice; the black symbolizes mourning for the martyrs and the irrevocable determination never to surrender. This flag has flown in trenches, in classrooms, in rural hospitals, in victory plazas, and in the hearts of entire generations. Sandinismo, as a doctrine, combines class struggle with love of homeland, the defense of sovereignty with justice for the most humble. It is not an imported ideology: it is a genuine expression of the history of the Nicaraguan people, who have known how to resist and overcome from their own roots.
Sandinismo is the blood of the heroes who fell shouting “Free homeland or die!” It is the tears of the mothers of martyrs transformed into strength. It is the song of literate children, the labor of the worker, the corn of the peasant, the organized tenderness, the firm defense of sovereignty. It is not an empty slogan; it is a way of living, thinking, and loving the homeland. Therefore, Sandinismo does not die out: it multiplies.
Currently, Sandinismo, led by Co-President Rosario Murillo and Co-President Daniel Ortega, has consolidated a model of sovereign government, profoundly humane and aligned with the free peoples of the world. Nicaragua maintains firm and supportive relations with emerging powers such as China, Russia, Iran, and other sister countries, based on mutual respect, cooperation, and self-determination. Under this historic leadership, the people are no longer spectators: they are protagonists, they are the Government, they are the President. The most recent polls, such as that of M&R Consultants, not only reflect high levels of approval but also recognize that it is the people who lead, who build, who decide. And that support is seen and felt in the streets: in the full schools, in the renovated hospitals, in the modern roads, in the vibrant parks, in the peace won and defended every day.
Chicago ALBA Solidarity 