July 1979: Dictator Somoza flees the face of advancing forces. Francisco Urcuyo, a US stooge, replaces him for 43 hours. military offensive drives him from office, and on 19 July the FSLN sweeps into the capital and sets up a new government.
All Somocist property - 20 per cent of industry and 40 per cent of land is nationalised. The transport, banks, and insurance quickly go the same way. The FSLN declares: We have inherited a country in ashes.?
The FSLN decides to rebuild the shattered economy with the weapons that brought down Somoza.
On 27 July the FSLN paper Barricade 'All people... should meet immediately to form Sandinista workers' defence com-: mittees. All the tasks of defending the revolution and national reconstruction are passing to our combative working. class.' August: Street committees, unions, women's organisations, and a youth movement are formed or extended. A strong centralised revolutionary army — the EPS — is built from the guerilla forces and vo unteers. with people's militias, the aim is to defend the revolution from the threat of foreign intervention.
The 'Bill of Rights' is published, guaranteeing the right to organise, to strike, to work, to social security, health, to education. Equal rights for women in the family, maternity rights, nursery facilities and the right to guaranteed employment after pregnancy are specified September: Factory begin. The FSLN warns: dangerous HOL to heed a assembly,' and insists that 'Sandinism is of the common people. They did not make revolution to return to the old conditions.
The US bides its time. It wants to use a combination of carrots and sticks to force the Sandinistas to rebuild in imperialism's interests. trols markets, funds, and holds threat of a blockade and even military intervention over the heads of the two and a half million people of Nicaragua.
Moner rebuild the economy comes in a trickle. By October SHO I SO HIS TO 0 DAN P including a meagre $22m Monetary, IMF lent Somoza $66m in 1979 alone: He spent it killing his people.
The bosses make preparations. A new party, the PSDS, a membership of 5,000 business people. Their slogan is "Sandinism yes, communism no'.
The capitalists want to use their presence in the government to turn back the revolution, but their natural power base - the army and police is destroyed. Their only hope is to split the FSLN.
In spite of letting the bosses into government, in spite of giving private ownership role reconstruction, the Sandinistas continue organise and workers.
leader says thought the masses would support the guerillas... the guerillas ended up supporting the masses.' October: The literacy campaign is * announced. It aims organise, the people to the goals of the revolution. "Revolution' is the first word taught. The youth teach A final victorious Side-by-side struggles It workers' The US conthe Shattered the Fund. The , is formed with adults.
taught is how to set national Salvador, resistance there.
back the later:
meeting mitteest and and organised people."
SANDIND VIVE The campaign is to allow Indian and black English speaking minorities to learn in their own language. Also up street and workers committees, health care and hygiene, how to take part in politics.
The US stages a military coup in El popular cent November: The revised Council of State is announced and its first scheduled for May.
Workers' Committees, Defence Comall trade unions are FSLN explains: "The Council of state will not be a parliamentary organ but the expression of the power of the World solidarity grows. In Britain union policy.
limit sales workplaces.
rents This, sist. suming equipment, foreign The government cupied promised series agreements. mittees bosses will seize - is offered. A risky capitalists still in But the content of the cabinet. Large replace bougeois the The CST union now organises organisation has port. January: Difficult decisions need to be made over wages and trade The FSLN wants to in. crease the, value of wages but also to wage rises. To keep down food prices rigid controls are imposed, subsidies are introduced, workers' committees are set up to detect and and punish speculators. Then else meg soon diods and the neighbourhoods and There are cuts of 50 per cent in mortgages and 60 per cent in argue the Sandinistas, will increase the value of real wages. They go to the workplaces and explain why wage demands should not be pressed - but grant them if the workers inIs all this a 'social contract'? Certainly not. A leading Sandinista explains: When we talk of austerity have to understand who is to get less and who is to get more. Clearly we are telling the bourgeoisie to consume fewer luxury goods... we can't tell the peasant who has nothing to stop con.
can't. tell the unemployed workers to be austere... We can't talk 'about that kind of austerity.' February: Landowners refuse to comply with the economic plan. Fac tory owners 'decapitalise': move out keep their profits in • banks, refuse to buy raw materials, run down production.
Sandinista • newspapel declares 'workers control is more im. portant than legal measures'.
Workers' occupations they are endorsed by the FLN.
nationalises land by the peasants. A drive to rebuild the militias is launched. March: It becomes clear that the US Congress has frozen indefinitely a $75m loan. The FSLN leaders visit Moscow and conclude a diplomatic and trade April: There are resignations from in production'. This attempt to split the FSLN meets with little success.
The compositions the new Council of State is announced. The mass organisatols choose their delegates through provincial, regional, and national assemblies. Many defence com.
begin replacing appointed local government officials. May: An estimated 200,000 turn out massive support for the PIN The the May showing most popular slogan is 'In the council of state, the organised people.
The new Council of State opens. June: Capitalists and their organisations suffer a number of set• backs. After an attack on a Sandinista police station in which one police officer was killed, dozens of countert revolutionaries are detained.
quantities of arms and money are found in the possession of those arrested, who are members of Council for Private Enterprise and the Cattlemen's Association The right call off an anti-FLN demonstration because of lack of supAmnesty International expresses its 'admiration' for the abolition of the death penalty in Nicaragua... clalist Challenge 17 July 1980 Page 9